
Book .V\^6 



Entered, according to Act of Congress, m the year one thousand 
eight hundred and sixty-four, by 

Harper & Brothers, 

In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the Southern District 
of New York. 



^\\ 



\ 



I 



TO THOSE LIVING, 



AND TUE 



itlemorg of tijoac Pcair, 

KILLED BY THE APACHE INDIANS IN THE STRUGGLE TO REDEEM 

ARIZONA FROM BARBARISM, WHO HAVE BEEN FOR 

YEARS MY FAST FRIENDS THROUGH 

GOOD AND EVIL REPORT, 

2ri)ese 3i3a2cs arc ^ffecttcnatela? ©etiicateli. 



PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION/'^ 



Since the delivery of the following address, more 
than four years ago, I have made several journeys in 
Sonora and Arizona, and have resided about a year at 
my place, the '' Mowry Silver Mines," in Arizona. 

In reading over the , proof-sheets of this new edition, 
I find nothing to alter or correct in essential fact. The 
telegraph has just brought the intelligence of the Ter- 
ritorial organization of Arizona by the U. S. Congress, 
and the appointment of the governor, judges, and other 
officials. It is somewhat gratifying to me to know 
that gentlemen who, four years since, denied the neces- 
sity of this measure, and opposed it by vote and influ- 
ence most virulently on political grounds, have seen 
the error of their ways. By reproducing my argu- 
ments and authorities, and even my words verbatim et 
literatim^ they have paid a tribute to truth the more 
valuable that it comes from an unexpected source. 
As I had then and have now an ambition for Arizona 
far beyond private or personal views, I thank these 
gentlemen heartily, and make them welcome to "all 
the thunder" and all the political honors they have 
stolen from me. 

The limits of an evening address necessarily pre- 
cluded details, and obliged me to confine myself to 
general and prominent characteristics. The Appendix 

* Published in 1863 by Roman and Company, San Francisco. 



viii Preface to the Second Edition. 

to this edition supplies this deficiency^ and will, I trust, 
be found sufficiently full to make the work valuable 
for permanent use and future reference. 

I claim for the following pages but one merit — ac- 
curacy of statement and an entire absence of exaggera- 
tion. No pains have been spared in verifying, from 
every valuable source, the facts presented, and I chal- 
lenge the closest criticism on this point. The route 
laid down for the railroad from El Paso to Guaymas 
is only intended to indicate the general direction. It 
is made to run through the Gaudalupe Pass, because 
we know from actual survey tl^at this Pass is practi- 
cable. I am informed, however, that a more southerly 
pass through the Sierra Madre exists, which would 
much shorten the distance from El Paso to Arizpe. 
General C. P. Stone informed me three years since that 
he was convinced of the existence of this pass. 

The great opportunities now existing for permanent 
and richly paying investments in Sonora and Arizona 
can not be too highly estimated. Every facility is of- 
fered by the government for the development of the 
mines by foreign capitalists. The old prejudice against 
Americans is fast disappearing under the influence of 
contact and mutual interest. The owners of valuable 
mines are ready and willing to associate themselves 
with respectable Americans on liberal terms. The 
character of the men at this moment engaging in min- 
ing in Sonora and Arizona is a sure guarantee of hon- 
est and efficient management — a certain assurance of 
large returns. 

In answer to many questions respecting the present 
governor of Sonora — Senor Don Ygnacio Pesqueira — 
I am glad to have the opportunity of saying that dur- 



Preface to the Second Edition. ix 

ing several years of intercourse with him, more or less 
intimate, I have found him honorable, liberal, and es- 
pecially desirous of forwarding, in every legitimate 
manner, the Avishes and views of Americans whose en- 
terprise had led them to Sonora. He said recently, in 
conversation with several gentlemen, "I care nothing 
for the political views of Americans who come here in 
good faith to assist us in developing the mineral wealth 
of the state. They s^all have from me all the assist- 
ance that my own influence and the government can 
afford." I am sure I am doing only an act of justice 
in acknowledging many kindnesses from this gentle- 
man, wdiom I am proud to call my friend. 

Being neither " a prophet, nor the son of a prophet," 
I have carefully avoided political speculations in refer- 
ence to Sonora. Thick-coming and unforeseen events 
would be almost certain to " write down an ass" the 
man who is bold enough to predict now^adays. One 
thing, however, is sure — Sonora has taken a step in an 
advancing career which will not be impeded. Capital 
and intelligence have again gained a footing in this 
beautiful and wealthy state, and her course will be 
rapid to prosperity and power. 

The organization of Arizona, with the establishment 
of courts, and the presence of a large military force, 
will restore order, guarantee capital and labor, and 
subdue or exterminate the hostile Apaches. 

I beg to make my sincere acknowledgments to the 
gentlemen who have favored me with notes, and espe- 
cially to Don Juan A. Eobinson, of Sonora, and Mr. J. 
A. Peck, of San Francisco, for valuable manuscript 
notes of mining localities in Sonora, which I have not 
visited. S. M. 

A 2 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER I. 

ADDRESS BEFORE THE AMERICAN GEOGRAPHICAL AND STATISTICAL 
SOCIETY, NEW YORK, FEBRUARY 3, 1859. 

Arizona : Origin of the Name. — Boundaries. — Outlet. — The Gadsden 
Purchase. — Early Settlements. — Mormons. — Mines. — Soil and Pro- 
ductions. — Indian Depredations. — The Valley of the Rib Grande. 
— The Rivers Mimbres, Suanco, San Pedro, and Santa Cruz. — Tuc- 
son. — Tubac. — Tlie Sonoita Valley. — Silver Region. — Desert Re- 
gion. — Arizona Copper Mine. — Valleys of the Colorado and Gila. — 
The Pimos. — The Apaches. — Other Indians. — Climate. — Cultiva- 
tion. — Population. — New INIexico and Arizona, — Importance of the 
Organization of Arizona. — Copper and Silver Ores. — The Heintzel- 
man Mine. — Other Mines. — The Gold Region. — Sonora: Bound- 
aries, Government, and Population. — Origin of the Name. — Char- 
acter of the People. — Soil. — Mines. — The Real del Carmen. — Sier- 
ra del Oregano. — Ancient Population. — Traditions. — Silver and 
Gold. — Climate and Productions. — Rivers and Towns. — Guaymas 
and its Commerce. — Hermosillo. — Future of Sonora. — Pacific Rail- 
road Page 1 5 

CHAPTER II. 

condition of ARIZONA FROM 1S50 TO 1SG4. 

Rapid Advance of Arizona.— Reverses. — Withdrawal of the Overland 
Mail. — Ravages of the Apaches. — Mining Discoveries. — The Heint- 
zelman and other Mines. — The Military Position. — The Mowry Sil- 
ver Mines. — Arrest of the Proprietor. — His Release. — The Mines 
worked on Government Account. — The Apaches, and how to deal 
with them.— General Carleton.— Arizona in 1864.— Progress of the 
Mines.— The Mowry Mines.— Mr. Kustel's Report.— The Bounda- 
ries and Organization of the Territory 55 

CHAPTER III. 

THE MINES OF ARIZONA. REPORT OF F. BIERTU, METALLURGIST AND 
MINING ENGINEER, WRITTEN IN FEBRUARY, 1S61. 

The Mowry (formerly called the Patagonia) Silver Mines. — The Lodes 
and Ores. — Shafts and Tunnels. — Owners. — Management. — Eagle 



xii Contents. 

Mines. — Empire or Montezuma Mine. — Santa Rita Mining Com- 
pany. — Mariposa INIining Company. — Sonora Exploring and Mining 
Company. — Cahuabi Mining Company. — Arizona Copper Mining 
Company. — Sopori Land and Mining Company. — Arizona Land 
and Mining Company. — Colorado River Copper Mines. — Stevenson 
Mining Company. — Harris Mine. — St. Augustin Mining Company. 
— Coal Mines. — Auriferous Quartz , Page 73 

CHAPTER IV. 

THE COLORADO RIVER MINES IN ISGi, 

Mining on the Colorado. — The River and its Navigation. — The differ- 
ent Mining Districts on the Colorado. — Freight and Passage. — 
Quality of the Ores. — Mode of Working. — Furnaces and Fuel... 85 

CHAPTER V. 

SONORA FROM 1S59 TO 1864. 

Improvements since 1859. — The Southern Pacific Railroad. — The 
Overland ]\Iail. — Guayma's. — Labor in Sonora. — Great Mining Ha- 
ciendas. — The Mining Districts, Alamos, San Xavier, Las Bronces, 
Los Cedros. — Price of Labor. — The Jecker Contract for the Survey 
of Sonora. — Captain Stone's Scientific Commission. — Its Failure. — 
What it accomplished. — Extracts from Captain Stone's Letters. — 
What the Contract granted. — Present Condition of Sonora 92 

CHAPTER VI. 

THE MINES OF LA CANANEA AND LA CIENEGUITA, SONORA. 

La Cananea: Early Working of the Mines. — Don "tgnacio Perez. — 
The Sierra of La Cananea. — Condition of the Mines in 18G0. — 
Their Situation. — The different Mines. — The Ores. — Chamunque. 
— Access to the Mines. — Assays of Ores. — La Cieneguita: Situation 
of the Mines. — Early Working. — Their Abandonment. — Titles. — 
Location. — The Mines. — The Hacienda. — Fuel, Water, .Building 
Materials, Wages, Provisions, etc. — Resume. — Assays of the Ores 
of La Cieneguita 103 

CHAPTER VIL 

THE SIERRA MADRE OF NEW MEXICO. 

Mineral Wealth of Northern Mexico. — The Sierra Madre. — Mining 
under the Spanish Dominion. — Ancient and Modern Mines. — Pres- 
ent Modes of Mining. — The Miners. — Gambussinos. — Their Mode 
of Working. — Causes of the Decay in Mining. — Habits of the Min- 



Contents. \iii 

crs. — Borascas and Bonanzas. — Expulsion of the Spaniards. — With- 
drawal of Military Forces. — Ravages of the Indians. — Lack of Ma- 
chinery. — Various Causes for the Abandonment of Mines. — Necessi- 
ty for Foreign Capital and Energy. — Inducements for its Invest- 
ment. — Political Relations of Sonora and Chihuahua. — The Apaches. 
— Special Advantages of Chihuahua, Sonora, and Sinaloa. — Value 
and Distribution of the Ores. — Means of acquiring the Right to 
Mines. — Hints to Capitalists Page 125 

CHAPTER VIH. 

THE MIXES OF JESUS MARIA AND SAN JOSib. 

Condition of Mining in Mexico. — Wealth of the old Spanish Miners. 
— The Faults of their Successors. — A European Superintendent of 
the Jesus Maria INIines. — M. Augustus Remuley. — Abandonment of 
the Mines. — Recent Movements. — Present Prospects. — The Mines 
near Jesus Maria and Jose. — Nuestra Sefiora del Rayo. — Santa Mar- 
garita. — San Jose del Rosario. — Candelaria. — San Rafael. — Haci- 
enda Quintana. — General Notes 140 

CHAPTER IX. 

MINERALOGICAL SKETCH OP ARIZONA. 

Limits of Arizona. — Topography. — Geological Structure. — Character 
of the Vegetation. — The Plains. — The Table-lands. — Rivers, Fount- 
ains, and Wells. — Arable and grazing Land. — Parl^ of the great 
IMineral Region. — The Heintzelman Mine. — Character of the Ores. 
—Their Order of Deposit. — Processes of Reduction. — Defects in the 
Processes. — Wages and other Expenses. — Results, actual and pros- 
pective. — The Plain of Arivaca. — Santa Rita Mines. — Cahuabi 
Mines. — The San Pedro Mines. — Lead INIines. — The Mowry Silver 
Mines. — Various Mines and Ores. — Plancha do la Plata. — General 
Conclusions 158 

CHAPTER X. 

CORRESPONDENCE. 

S. Mowry to J. R. Bartlett, Esq.— From J. R. Bartlett, Esq.— From 
John C. Hays, Esq. — From Hon. Joseph Lane. — From John Nu- 
gent, Esq. — From Hon. INIiguel A. Otero. — From S. W. Inge, Esq. — 
From Major C. E. Bennett. — From Sam. F. Butterworth, Esq... 176 



xiv Contents. 

CHAPTER XI. 

THE GOVERNMENT AND THE MINES. 

The Mines of the West : shall the Government seize them ? — The 
Mining States: how shall they be Taxed ? 200 

CHAPTER XII. 

THE SOUTHERN RAILROAD ROUTE TO THE PACIFIC. 

Jefferson Davis on the Route of the 32(1 Parallel : All Routes present 
Obstacles; this the fewest. — Lieutenant Parke's Surveys. — Dis- 
tances. — The Office Examination. — The Jornado. — Water and 
Timber. — Distances and Elevations. — Mr. A. H. Campbell's Report, 
— Temperature. — Opinions of Marcy and Emory. — Table of Com- 
parative Lengths and Costs. — General Considerations. — National 
Importance of a Pacific Railroad. 

CHAPTER XIIL 

THE SILVER MINES OF ARIZONA. 

The San Antonio Mine. — Aspect of the Region. — The Mowry Mines. 
— Scene at the Hacienda. — Pay-day. — Labor and Laborers. — His- 
tory of the Mines. — Lieutenant Mowry. — Yield of the Mines. — 
Country and Climate. — Santa Rita Mines. — The Hacienda.— The 
Salero Mines. — The Ores. — Grazing. — The Sopori Ranch. — The 
Country and the Mines. — Prospects. — The Heintzelman Mine. — 
The Countiy. — Past and Present of the Mines. — The Ores. — Mex- 
ican Thieves. — The Arivaca INIines. — The Country. — Arizona 
Mining Company. — Surrounding Mining Region. — The Cahuabia 
District. — The Mines. — The Bahia Mines. — General Conclu- 
sions 232 

POSTSCRIPT. 

■WARD ON THE SILVER MINES OF NORTHERN MEXICO. 

Projects for Mining. — The Mines of Arizpe. — Richness of Ores. — 
The Balls of Silver. — Old Spanish Decree. — Criaderos de Plata. — 
Speculations and Prospects 249 



ARIZONA AND SONOEA. 



CHAPTER I. 

ADDRESS BEFORE THE AMERICAN GEOGRAPPIICAL AND STATISTICAL 
SOCIETY, NEW YORK, FEBRUARY 3, 1859. 

Arizona : Origin of the Name, — Boundaries. — Outlet. — The Gadsden 
Purchase. — Early Settlements. — Mormons. — Mines. — Soil and Pro- 
ductions. — Indian Depredations. — The Valley of the Rio Grande. 
— The Rivers Mimbres, Suanco, San Pedro, and Santa Cruz. — Tuc- 
son. — Tubac. — The Sonoita Valley. — Silver Region. — Desert Re- 
gion. — Arizona Copper Mine. — Valleys of the Colorado and Gila. — 
The Pimos. — The Apaches. — Other Indians. — Climate. — Cultiva- 
tion. — Population. — New Mexico and Arizona. — Importance of the 
Organization of Arizona. — Copper and Silver Ores. — The Heintzel- 
man Mine. — Other Mines. — The Gold Region. — Sonora: Bound- 
aries, Government, and Population. — Origin of the Name. — Char- 
acter of the Pepple. — Soil — Mines. — The Real del Carmen. — Sier- 
ra del Oregano. — Ancient Population. — Traditions. — Silver and 
Gold. — Climate and Productions. — Rivers and Towns. — Guaymas 
and its Commerce. — Hermosillo. — Future of Sonora. — Pacific Rail- 
road. 

The name Arizona is undoubtedly derived from the 
Aztec. In the original it is Arizumci, and the change is 
a corruption into the i^resent word, which is accepted as 
Spanisli. We have no decided information as to its mean- 
ing, but the impressiqp among those who have been curi- 
ous enough to investigate is, that it signifies " silver-bear- 
ing." This impression gains strength from the fact that 
the Arizona mountains are very rich in silver, and that a 
tradition of a silver mine, called La Arizona, of incredible 



16 Arhona and Sonora. 

richness, still exists among the Mexican people near the 
frontier of our newly-acquired Territory. The proposed 
Territory of Arizona is bounded on the north by the par- 
allel of latitude 33° 40'; on the east by Texas; on the 
south by Texas and the Mexican States of Chihuahua and 
Sonora ; and on the west by the Colorado River, which 
separates it from California. This great region is about 
seven hundred miles long, with an average width of about 
one hundred and forty miles, and contains nearly 100,000 
square miles. It is twice as large as New York ; em- 
braces within its borders three of the largest rivers on the 
continent west of the Mississippi, viz., the Rio Grande, 
the Gila, and the Colorado of the West.* 

The Colorado is the only navigable stream, and by its 
waters and those of the Gulf of California, Arizona is 
placed in easy communication with San Francisco and the 
Pacific coast. The natural outlet for the productions of 
Arizona must be through a port on the Gulf of California, 
and the acquisition of California necessitates the posses- 
sion of Sonora. That portion of Arizona now occupied, 
and to which public attention is now attracted in so re- 
markable a degree, has been better known heretofore as 
the " Gadsden Purchase." It was acquired by purchase 
from Mexico during the mission of General Gadsden, at a 
cost often millions of dollars. In the original treaty, as ne- 
gotiated by General Gadsden, a more southerly boundary 
than the one adopted by the Senate of the United States 
in confirming the treaty was conceded by Santa Anna. 
The line at present is irregular in its course, and cuts 
oif from our Territory the head of the Santa Cruz River 
and valley, the Sonoita valley, the San Bernardino valley, 
the whole course of the Colorado River from a point 
twenty miles below the mouth of the Gila River, and, 
worse than all, the control of the head of the Gulf of Cali- 
* For boundaries as adopted, see Chapter II. 



Address before the Geographical Society^ 1859. 17 

fornia, and the rich and extensive valley of Lake Guzman, 
besides a large and extremely valuable silver region, well 
known both to Mexicans and Americans — the Planchas 
de la Plata. General Gadsden's line included nearly all 
the territory south of the Gila River to the thirty-first 
l^arallel of latitude — all the advantages above mentioned 
— and gave us the mouth of the Colorado Kiver. 

The Gadsden Purchase is attached by act of Congress 
to the Territory of New Mexico. At the time of its ac- 
quisition there was scarcely any population, excejDt a few 
scattering Mexicans in the Mesilla valley, and at the old 
town of Tucson, in tlic centre of the Territory. The 
Apache Indian, superior in strength to the Mexican, had 
gradually extirpated every trace of civilization, and roam- 
ed uninterrupted and unmolested, sole possessor of what 
was once a thriving and populous Spanisli province. 

In the possession of the writer of these notes is a map 
drawn in 1757, over one hundred years ago, presented 
by the Society of Jesuits to the King of Spain. The 
original of this map is now in the archives of tlie Mexi- 
can government. It was copied, with the notes relating 
to the Territory and Sonora, Chihuahua and Sinaloa, by 
Captain C. P. Stone, late of the United States Army. 
The map bears the inscrijDtion, " Carte levee par la So- 
ciete des Jesuites dediee au Hoi d^Espagne en 1757." 
The copy of the map and the accompanying notes are 
certified as accurate by the ofticer of the Mexican gov- 
ernment in charge of the archives. 

My information, therefore, upon the early history of 
this conij^aratively unknown domain, is accurate and reli- 
able. As early as 1687, a Jesuit missionary from the 
province of Sonora, which, in its southern portion, bore 
already the impress of Spanish civilization, descended the 
valley of the Santa Cruz River to the Gila. Passing down 
the Gila to its mouth, after exploring the country, he re- 



18 Arizona and Sojiora. 

traced his steps, penetrated the country north of the Gila 
River for some distance, and ascended the Salinas or Salt 
River, and other northern branches of the Gila. The ex- 
plorations of this energetic priest did not stop here. Pro- 
ceeding east, he explored the valley of the San Pedro and 
its branches, thence along the Gila to the Mirabres,*and 
probably to the Rio Grande and the Mesilla valley. Fill- 
ed with the enthusiasm of his sect, he procured authority 
from the head of the order in Mexico, and established 
missions and settlements at every available- point. 

The reports of the immense mineral wealth of the new 
country, made by the Jesuits, induced a rapid settlement. 
There are laid down on the maj) before me more than 
forty towns and villages. Many of these were of consid- 
erable size. There were a few north of the Gila, and 
several on the lower Gila, near the Colorado. The Santa 
Cruz and its tributary valleys teemed with an agricultur- 
al and mining population. Thousands of enterprising- 
Spaniards cultivated the rich valley of the San Pedro, 
and scattered settlements flourished at every suitable 
stream and spring at the foot of the mountains toward 
the Rio Grande. The notes before me say: 

" All these settlements and missions were founded in 
fertile valleys, and by streams and springs, which pro- 
duced luxuriant crops of wheat, corn, and beans, and in 
many parts grapes and other foreign fruits were culti- 
vated." 

In the western part of the territory Avere the missions 
of St. Pierre, St. Paul, St. Matthias, St. Simond, St. Francis- 
co, Merci, the ranches of Eau Cheri, Eau de la Lune, and 
others ; on the Santa Cruz the missions of San Xavier del 
Bac, Santiago, San Cayetano, and San Philipe ; the towns 
of Tucson, "Tubac, Regis, San Agusta, and many others. 
San Xavier del Bac is still in existence. It is a mission 
church of great size and beauty, magnificently ornamented 



Address before the Geographical JSocietij, 1859. 19 

within ; forty thousand dollars in solid silver served to 
adorn the altar. Ui^on the San Pedro River were the 
missions of St. Mark, San Salvadore, San Pantaleon, Santa 
Cruz, and the towns of Quiduria, Rosario, Eugenia, Vic- 
toria, and San Fernando — the latter at the mouth — witli 
many more. To the east some small settlements were 
found on the Valle del Saux,on the Mimbres, at the cop- 
per mines north of the Mimbres, and to the south the 
immense grazing and stock-raising estabhshment of San 
Bernardino, where since have been raised hundreds of 
thousands of cattle and horses. The Indians in the vicin- 
ity of the missions were reduced first to obedience by the 
Jesuits, and then to slavery by the Spaniards. 

The notes referred to above contain the names and lo- 
calities of more than a hundred silver and gold mines, 
which were worked with great success by the Spaniards. 
The survey of the Jesuit priest about 1687 was repeated 
in 1710, with renewed discoveries, and consequent acces- 
sion of population. From this time up to 1757 the con- 
quest and settlement of the country was prosecuted with 
vigor, both by the Jesuits' Society and the Spanish gov- 
ernment. 

The missions and settlements were repeatedly destroy- 
ed by the Apaches, and the priests and settlers massacred 
or driven off. As often Avere they re-established. The 
Indians at length, thoroughly aroused by the cruelties of 
the Spaniards, by whom they were deprived of their lib- 
erty, forced to labor in the silver mines with inadequate 
food, and barbarously treated, finally rose, joined with 
tribes who had never been subdued, and gradually drove 
out or massacred their oppressors. A superior civiliza- 
tion disappeared before their devastating career, and to- 
day there is scarcely a trace of it left, except scarcely vis- 
ible ruins, evidences every where of extensive and hastily- 
deserted mining operations, and the tradition of the coun- 



20 Arizona and Sonora. 

try. The mission of San Xavier del Bac, and the old 
towns of Tucson and Tubac, are the most prominent of 
these remains. 

From 1757 down to 1820, the SjDaniards and Mexicans 
continued to work many valuable mines near Barbacora, 
and the notes in my possession speak of many silver 
mines, most of which contained a percentage of gold. 
"The San Pedro gold mine in 1748 was worked with ex- 
traordinary success." Among the mines anciently work- 
ed, as laid down in the authorities heretofore referred to, 
were the Dolores, San Antonio, Casa Gordo, Cabrisa, San 
Juan Bautista, Santa Anna (which was worked to the 
depth of one hundred and twenty yards), Rosario, Cata 
de Agua, Guadaloupe, Connilla, Prieta, Santa Catarina, 
Guzopa, Hurstano, Arpa, Descuhidara, Nascosare, Ar- 
guage, Churinabibi, Huacal, Pinal, and a great number of 
others, which it Avould only be tedious to mention. 

Every exploration within the past few years has con- 
firmed the statements of the ancient records. The testi- 
mony of living Mexicans and the tradition of the country 
all tend to the same end. Colonel A. B. Grey, Colonel 
Emory, Lieutenant Michler, Lieutenant Parke, the Hon. 
John R. Bartlett, late of the United States Boundary 
Commission, all agree in the statement that the Territory 
lias immense resources in silver and cop23er. Colonel 
Emory says in his report : 

"On account of the gold mania in California, I kept the 
search for gold and other precious metals as much out of 
view as possible, scarcely allowing it to be a matter of 
conversation, much less of actual search. Yet enough 
was ascertained to convince us that the whole region was 
teeming with the precious metals. "We every where saw 
the remains of mining operations, conducted by the Span- 
iards, and more recently by the Mexicans." 

The report enumerates at considerable length the va- 



Address before the Geographical Society^ 1859. 21 

rious localities examined by Colonel Emory's party and 
others, of which there could be no doubt. The Hon. 
John R. Bartlett says of the Salinas, one of the northern 
branches of the Gila, that it alone will supply food for a 
great state. It must be recollected in this connection 
that the great mineral wealth of Arizona will call for, and 
amply repay for, the redemption and expensive cultiva- 
tion of all the available lands, and that irrigation pro- 
duces immensely greater crops than the other method of 
planting. Throughout the Avhole of Utah irrigation has 
been resorted to with the greatest success. The soil in 
Utah, in no place that the writer saw it, could in any way 
be compared to that of the bottom lands of Arizona. 
Captain Whipple, in his valuable report of exploration for 
the Pacific Kailroad, published by order of Congress, 
crossed the upper part of the region alluded to, and which 
is watered by the Kio Verde and Salinas. He fully sus- 
tains me in my remarks on those rich valleys : 

"We are in the pleasantest region -we have seen since 
we left the Choctaw country. Here are clear rivulets, 
with fertile valleys and forest trees. The wide belt of 
country that borders the Black Forest, and probably ex- 
tends along the Rio Verde to the Salinas and Gila, bears 
every indication of being able to support a large agricul- 
tural and pastoral population. The valley of the Rio 
Verde is magnificently wooded with firs and oaks, afford- 
ing excellent timber. Ancient ruins are said by trappers 
to be scattered over its whole length to the confluence 
Avith the Salinas. We therefore seem to have skirted 
the boundary of a country once populous, and worthy of 
becoming so again. Besides the advantages already enu- 
merated, the mountains in this vicinity bear indications 
of mineral wealth." — Vol. iii., p. 93. 

The notes above referred to, in the possession of the 
writer, speak of great farming and grazing establishments 



22 Arizona and Sonora. 

scattered over the whole face of the Territory, between 
1610 and 1800, which produced abundant crops of cereals, 
fruits, and grapes. These statements are confirmed by 
the testimony of Major Emory and his report, where he 
enumerates several of tlie most extensive; by Grey,Bart- 
lett, Parke, and Colonel Bonneville. Many of the ranches, 
deserted by the Mexicans on account of the Apache In- 
dians, have upon them large, well-built adobe houses, 
which must have cost the builders thousands of dollars. 
Many of these have been occupied under squatter titles 
by emigrants within the last few years. Of others only 
the ruins remain, having been destroyed by the depreda- 
tions of the Indians, or by the heavy rains of succeeding 
years. 

The country east of the Rio Grande is a great plain, 
broken only by the Sacramento and Guadalupe Mount- 
ains. Except in the towns on the river there is no popu- 
lation. The Mescalero Apaches have until lately made 
settlements unsafe. The establishment of Fort Stanton, 
and the activity of the United States troops, have, howev- 
er, reduced this once formidable tribe in number and spir- 
it, so that an early settlement of the fine country in the 
vicinity of the Sacramento Mountains may be expected. 
I have not visited this portion of the Territory, but from 
persons in whom I have perfect confidence I learn that 
there is a large and valuable district, offering great induce- 
ments to stock-raisers ; a number of bold, clear streams, 
alive with trout and other fish ; a good proportion of 
arable land, and an inexhaustible supply of oak, pine, hack- 
berry, and other timber. In the Organ Mountains, oppo- 
site the Mesilla valley, there are silver mines of great val- 
ue. One of these, the old Stevenson Mine, now known 
as the Fort Fillmore Mine, has been purchased by New 
York capitalists, and preparations are making to develop 
its undoubted wealth. 



Address be/ore the Geographiccd Society, 1859. 23 

The Rio Grande valley, including the well-known Me- 
silla, contains a large extent of unoccupied arable land, 
Avitli plenty of water for irrigation. Until lately, tlie pro- 
tection afforded by United States troops has enabled the 
people to cultivate in safety, and during the last year 
nearly one hundred thousand bushels of grain were raised 
in the valley, besides a large number of cattle and horses. 
It is worthy of remark, that the settlements here, although 
mostly Mexican, have been made since the United States 
acquired the Territory, and that the lands are held under 
American title. The population is quiet, well behaved, 
and thoroughly American in feeling. It is estimated, and 
I believe correctly, that at least 50,000 people can be set- 
tled on the Rio Grande within the Arizona boundaries, 
and there are many attractions for the farmer and stock- 
raiser. West of the Rio Grande the country is a succes- 
sion of mesas or table-lands, ascending gently for nearly 
ninety miles to the Sierra Madre, and thence westward 
for five hundred miles, gradually descending until they 
reach the Gulf of California. This extensive plateau 
south of the Gila is broken by two well-defined ranges of 
mountains, the Chir-aca-hui and Santa Rita, and by a num- 
ber of isolated peaks, which assume something the form 
of a sugar-loaf, and are called by the Mexicans P/c«c/i05 
and Peloncillos. 

The sun never shone on a finer grazing country than 
npon the three hundred miles west of the Rio Grande. 
The traveler has before him throughout the entire dis- 
tance a sea of grass, whose nutritious qualities have no 
equal, and the stock-raiser in January sees his cattle in 
better condition than our Eastern farmer his stall-fed ox. 
Ninety miles west of the Rio Grande is the Mimbres Riv- 
er and valley. Passing over the dividing ridge of the 
Sierra Madre, with so gentle an ascent and descent as to 
make it almost imperceptible, you descend into a wide 



24 Arizona and Sonora. 

and beautiful valley, which at no distant day will support 
a large population. Tlic banks of the river are covered 
with a fine growth of cottonwood, and above the usual 
crossing for emigrants wild grapes and berries are found 
in great profusion. The Santa Rita del Cobre copper 
mine, of ancient fame, and a little to the northAvest of the 
Mimbres, has lately been reoj)ened by a capitalist, who 
has already begun to reap the reward of his enterprise. 
One hundred and thirty thousand pounds of this copjDer 
were sold a few months since to the Chihuahua mint for 
thirty-five cents per pound. A quantity has been sent to 
London and to N"ew York to be experimented on.* It is 
claimed that the superior malleability and ductility of this 
copper must make the demand for it very great. The 
Mimbres River sinks before reaching the line of Mexico. 
Some statements, which I have never been able to authen- 
ticate, make it flow in very rainy seasons into Lake Guz- 
man. The Suanco, or Yalle de Saux, is the next valley on 
the line of the emigrant road. The watery of this stream 
are very limited and intermittent. As it approaches the 
Gila the valley becomes better, but it will never be avail- 
able for extensive agriculture. The San Pedro River 
and valley, two hundred and fifty miles west of the Rio 
Grande, is par excellence the agricultural district south 
of the Gila. The valley is wide, very rich soil, and is 
considerably over one hundred miles in length. Owing 
to the depredations of the Apaches, no settlements liave 
yet been made in this valley. There is, near the junction 
of the San Pedro with the Gila, and at the mouth of the 
Arivypa, a most beautiful and fertile region. A fine 
growth of ash covers the valley. The Santa Rita Mount- 
ains, which separate the San Pedro and Santa Cruz, con- 
tain inexhaustible supplies of pine and oak, besides untold 
millions of the precious metals. A military post of four 
* Sec Appendix for later results. 



Address before the Geographical Society, \%b^. 25 

companies at the mouth of the Arivypa would open this 
entire country to settlement. 

Still following the emigrant and mail road fifty miles, 
brings us to the old Mexican town of Tucson and the val- 
ley of the Santa Cruz. Like most of the streams, the 
Santa Cruz is intermittent, sinking and rising at irregular 
intervals. A portion of this valley is covered with a 
heavy growth of cottonwood. The mountains in the vi- 
cinity contain pine and oak, and the extensive tracts of 
o-razing lands south to the Mexican line are covered 
thickly with the mesquit--the best fuel in the world. 
The town of Tucson now contains about a thousand inhab- 
itants. It once had three thousand ; but the Indians, who 
desolated the whole of the Territory, had driven away all 
but about two hundred at the time of the Gadsden Pur- 
chase. Nine miles from Tucson, as you go up the valley 
of the Santa Cruz, is the old mission church of San Xav- 
ier, to which I have alluded elsewhere. It is still sur- 
rounded by a Papago Indian village ; a few tame Apaches 
and a few whites also live under the shadow of its tow- 
ers. Incredible as the statement may seem, the church 
of San Xavier, with its elaborate fa9ade, its dome and 
spires, would to-day be an ornament to the architecture 
of this great metropolis. No better evidence is needed 
of the resources and former prosperity of Arizona than is 
to be found in the now deserted missions of San Xavier 
and Tumacacori. » 

The town of Tubac, fifty miles southeast of Tucson, 
which now boasts a population of several hundred, was en- 
tirely deserted up to 1855, when it was reoccupied in part 
by the Sonora Exploring and Mining Company. They 
claim the town, and have given permission to a number 
of emigrants to occupy the old houses and build new 
ones. °Over what was once the towers of the barracks 
of the Mexican troops now floats a banner bearing the 

B 



26 Arizona and Sonora. 

arms of peace, a hammer and pick, the in-signia of the 
company ; and in the rooms beneath, which once echoed 
to the tread of the successful Apache fighter, are now sold 
the calicoes and cotton goods of Lowell, and all manner 
of Yankee notions. The great Heintzelman Mine, the 
mines of Arivaca, Sopori, and Santa Rita, are within a 
circle of twenty miles from Tubac. Three miles from 
Tubac is the mission of Tumacacori. Its venerable walls 
now shelter political exiks from Sonora and a few enter- 
prising Germans, and its rich lands are cultivated by the 
American squatter. Twelve miles farther u]? the Santa 
Cruz is the ranch of Calabazas, claimed as the projoerty 
of the Gandara family, of Sonora. The extensive build- 
ings are occupied by American families, and the black- 
smith's forge is installed in a room once dedicated to 
more delicate uses. 

The Sonoita vaHey, which opens into the Santa Cruz 
near Calabazas, is the only one in any degree protected 
by the United States troops. It is about fifty miles long, 
in no place exceeding a mile in width, and generally much 
narrower. When I passed up it to Fort Buchanan, the 
whole valley was golden with grain. In one field there 
Avere one hundred and fifty acres of corn. I counted 
upon four stalks eighteen full-grown ears, and the aver- 
age height of the stalks was fifteen feet. When it is 
borne in mind that this laud was but just turned, the corn 
planted and neither hoed nor suckered, I am sure it will 
be conceded that there is some agricultural land of value 
in Arizona. On several of the farms two crops were 
raised last year, wheat and corn, wheat and beans, and 
other vegetables. The farmer during the past year found 
a ready market for his produce, his purchasers being the 
troops and the Overland Mail Company. This valley is 
almost entirely taken up by an intelligent and adventur- 
ous American population; and here is almost the only 



Address before the Geographiccd Society ^ 1859. 27 

place in Arizona where you find that greatest of all bless- 
ings on the frontier — American women. 

The Santa Cruz and San Pedro approach each other 
near the Mexican line; and by Avay of Santa Cruz — a 
Mexican town at the head of the valley in Sonora — you 
can pass from one to the other with ease. The whole re- 
gion between the Rio Grande and the Santa Cruz is 
broken with conical-shaped hills and mountains, called by 
the Mexicans peloncillos. At the foot of these hills are 
found springs, which aflbrded water to the immense herds 
of cattle and horses which once covered the country ; 
and at many of these springs are found the ruins of build- 
ings occupied by the herders. The hills are covered to 
the top with the gramma, and other nutritious grasses. 

Twenty miles east of the Sonoita valley, and just north 
of the town of Santa Cruz, is one of the richest silver re- 
gions of Arizona. The Wachupe Mountain is believed to 
be inexhaustible in silver. The San Antonio and Pata- 
gonia* mines, lately opened, promise a rich yield to their 
owners. One of these is of especial value, yielding, be- 
sides a large percentage of silver, 53 per cent, of lead, 
which is purchased readily by the surrounding mining 
companies to be used in reducing their ores. The once 
celebrated Compadre mines, lately rediscovered, are in 
this vicinity. The present fortunate proprietors found 
them after a long and painful search. The shafts were 
found carefully concealed, partially filled with rubbish ; 
and thirteen furnaces in tolerable preservation i)rove how 
extensively the mines were once worked by the Spaniards. 
Here, as in the whole of Arizona, the work of prospecting 
and exploring has but just begun. The ores of this dis- 
trict are principally argentiferous galena. 

West of the Santa Cruz, and south of the valley of the 
Gila to the Colorado River, the Territory is generally an 
* The Patagonia is now known as the '• Mowry Silver Mines." 



28 Arizo7ia and So7iora. 

irreclaimable desert. Its mountains abound in the pre- 
cious metals, and a sufficiency of water for mining oj^era- 
tions can be usually obtained without exorbitant expense. 
The celebrated Ajo copper mine, now known as the Ari- 
zona copper mine, is in this district. Mr. Edward E. Dun- 
bar, whose facile j)en has lately presented to the public, 
through the columns of the Daily Times^ some lifelike 
sketches of this portion of Arizona, was formerly the di- 
rector of this mine, and the first, I believe, to demonstrate 
the fact that water could be obtained. I take much 
pleasure in bearing testimony to the conscientious regard 
for truth which characterizes Mr. Dunbar's statements ; 
and although I am forced to differ with him in some of 
his conclusions, his knowledge of the country, gained by 
a long and painful experience, entitle his opinion to much 
respect. The Arizona Mine will one day prove of im- 
mense value ; like the rest of the mining companies, it 
needs the outlet on the Gulf of California. 

The valley of the Colorado is fertile, and will produce 
all the tropical fruits as well as the, cereals. The Indians, 
favored by the annual overflow, raise abundant croj^s of 
wheat, corn, pumpkins, melons, and beans. The remains 
of extensive irrigating canals show that at some day 
long past a large agricultural population lived here. The 
extreme heat of the climate in the summer months will 
prevent white labor from agricultural pursuits to any 
great extent. Rice, sugar, and cotton are best adapted 
to the soil of the Colorado bottom. There is in places 
along the bank a fine growth of cottonwood, and the 
whole valley abounds with the mesquit. This is the only 
portion of the Territory where the heat is excessive. 

The valley of the Gila River, whose waters, flowing 
from east to west, divide the Territory nearly in the cen- 
tre, four hundred miles long, can in most places be brought 
under cultivation to a greater or less extent. Since the 



Address before the Geographical Society^ 1859. 29 

discovery of gold, a number of farms have been opened, 
and hundreds of acres of ricli land put under cultivation. 
The Gila empties into the Colorado one hundred and 
twenty-five miles above the head of the Gulf of Califor- 
nia. It is well to observe here that the difference in soil 
in different latitudes has not been sufficiently appreciated. 
The same soil which, under the climate of Oregon, is bar- 
ren and worthless,becomes, under the more genial sun of 
Arizona, fruitful, and, when irrigated, produces the same 
extraordinary crops as are found in California. The land 
cultivated by the Pimos on the Gila seems inexhaustible. 
Year after year they cultivate the same crops on the same 
land, with nothing but water to enrich it, and there is no 
sign of failure. 

The valley known as La Florida, near the mountain of 
the same name, in latititde 109°, is worthy of especial 
mention, as having at its head the ruins of a once flour- 
ishing town. A large population Avill again occupy it at 
no distant day. But little is known of the country north 
of the Gila ; it is very mountainous, but contains several 
valleys of considerable size, nearly all of which bear the 
impress of an ancient and superior civilization. The prin- 
cipal northern tributaries of the Gila are the Salado, the 
Tuberoso, the San Carlos, and the San Francisco (some- 
times called the Alamos). The Salado, according to my 
informant, Marcial, an Apache chief, has six small branch- 
es, four flowing from the east, two from the west. The 
Salado is the largest of all these streams, and has its som-ce 
about latitude 34°, in the Sierra Blanca Mountains. On 
all these streams the Apache Indian cultivates crops, prin- 
cipally of corn. The band known as the Coyetero, Pinal, 
or Sierra Blanca, cultivate most, although they have had 
the least intercourse with the Avhites. 

The Indians of Arizona are best classed as " friendly" 
and " hostile.'* The friendly Indians are the Pimos, Mar- 



30 Arizona and Sonora. 

icopas, Papagos, and Yumas, with a few scattering, miser- 
able tame Apaches. The Pimos and Maricopas occupy a 
beautiful and fertile tract on the Gila, one hundred and 
eighty miles from its junction with the Colorado. They 
are a brave and hospitable race : they live in villages, and 
cultivate the arts of peace. Their regular fields, well- 
made irrigating ditches, and beautiful crops of cotton, 
wheat, corn, pumpkins, melons, and beans, have not only 
gladdened the eye, but also given timely assistance to the 
thousands of emigrants who have traversed Arizona on 
their way to the Pacific J The costume of the Pimos is 
extremely simple, only covering their loins, and a small 
straw hat, except in the case of the chiefs, who wear a 
sort of pantaloon of coarse cotton cloth. The Pimos and 
Apaches wage hereditary and fierce war, in which the Pi- 
mos are generally the victors. So high were their serv- 
ices valued by the Mexican government as a barrier to the 
incursions of the Gila Aj^aches, that whenever they visit- 
ed the Mexican towns, the authorities treated them with 
marked hospitality and kindness, making them presents 
of value, to be paid for by the public treasury. Much as 
we pride ourselves upon our superior government, no 
measures* have been taken to continue our friendly rela- 
tions with the Pimos ; and to our shame be it said, it is 
only to the forbearance of these Indians that we owe the 
safety of the life of a single American citizen in Central 
or Western Arizona, or the carriage of the mails overland 
to the Pacific^Ji The Maricopas live near the Pimos, and 
by contiguity and intermarriage have become similar in 
their customs. The Papagos resemble, but are inferior to 
the Pimos, do not cultivate so much, and live in scattered 
villages in the central and western parts of the Territory. 
The Apache — tribe of fatal memory for Sonora and all 

* The United States government have since, under urgent pressure 
of the writer, made some small appropriations for the Pimos Indians. 



Address defore the Geographical Society^ 1859. 31 

Northern Mexico, are best classified under tlieir modern 
names : the Mescaleros, east of the Rio Grande ; the Mim- 
bres, Mogollones, Chiracahuis, Coyeteros or Pinaleros, Si- 
erra Blanca, and the Tontos. In the order I have men- 
tioned them, west from the Kio Grande, all of these have 
their homes north of the Gila, except the Chiracahuis. 
Yelasco says these tribes have no fixed residence, no 
common society, no positive antecedents ; they are best 
compared to the prairie wolf, sneaking, cowardly, revenge- 
ful, quick to assassinate the weak, and to fly from or yield 
to the strong. It is impossible for one who has not seen 
Northern Mexico to imagine the desolation they have 
made in a country where Nature has done so much. The 
name Infelix Sonora — most unhappy — given by all the old 
writers, is most painfully true : from the Gila, in latitude 
32° 30', to Guaymas, in latitude 28°, their ravages are 
every where visible. Horrible as is the statement, more 
tlian one fourth of the Apaches of to-day are Mexican 
captives or their descendants. Not only ranches, and vil- 
lages, and towns, but whole districts, have been depopu- 
lated, and the work is still going on. In small parties, 
and by different mountain passes, they descend into Sono- 
ra, surprise and attack a train of travelers or a town, 
massacre the men, and carry off the women, with such 
booty as they can hastily seize, to their haunts on the 
Gila. 

I have obtained from Marcial, a leading Apache chief, 
and still a Mexican, much valuable information respecting 
these Indians. He had been carried off while a child, and 
had become, like his captors, savage. Velasco* says : 
" Without hesitation, it must be admitted that under no 
good treatment does the Apache yield his barbarism, his 
perfidy, or his atrocity ; notwithstanding the many treat- 
ies of peace made with the Pueblos, and the constant 

* Noticias y Esta'disticas del Estado de Sonora. Jose F. Velasco. 



32 Arizona and Sonora. 

campaigns against them, npon the first opportunity they 
break faith, and become Avorse than before. Though it is 
incontrovertible that the Apaches are the most ferocious 
tribe on our border, yet the same may be said even of 
those who, from the time of the conquest, belong among 
us ; they call themselves pacific, yet have never, generally 
speaking, had sympathy with the whites ; they have not 
adopted our manners and customs, nor have we existing 
between us that confidence which inspires a same race, 
when they profess the same principles of social ties ; in 
fact, during the whole period of time that they have been 
subordinates of our government, they have followed a 
system of contradiction and opposition against it as far 
as they were able. The unequivocal j^roof of this truth 
have been the frequent assaults that they have made upon 
us under the pretext of foolish stories with which they 
were misled, and sometimes without any cause at all." 

The whole number of Apache warriors does not exceed 
two thousand. I have investigated this subject with 
probably more care than any other person, and am satis- 
fied the number is rather under than over the truth. Be- 
ing cowardly, they are afraid of Americans, and do not 
murder.* ■ Their depredations in our territory are mostly 
confined to stealing cattle, horses, and mules. Arizona 
will have no peace, and her great wealth as a pastoral re- 
gion must remain undeveloped, until the War Depart- 
ment sends a strong force, and reduces them by fear of 
absolute submission. They must be fed by the govern- 
ment, or exterminated. They know no alternative but 
to steal or starve ; and Northern Mexico has been their 
prey for too many years for them to learn the arts of 
peace. 

The Navajoes are included by Velasco among the 

* Since this address was delivered, information has been received 
of the murder of several Americans by the Apaches; 



Address before the Geographiccd Society^ 1859. 33 

Apaches. They live in New Mexico along the 34th par- 
allel of north latitude. The Yumas, the remains of a once 
powerful tribe, live on the Colorado, near the Gila ; they 
are quiet ; sufficiently agricultural to subsist. A few 
years will leave them only their name. 

The climate of Arizona, except on the Lower Gila and 
the Colorado, is delicious ; never extremely hot, with cool 
summer nights, it offers great attractions to those who 
desire more genial skies than those of the North. Snow 
never lies in the winter — seldom falls ; frost is rare, 
though the nights are often cold, seldom freezing. The 
season for cultivating is long, fruits blooming in February 
and March. Cotton, corn, wheat, barley, tobacco, melons, 
grapes, peaches, and all the vegetables, yield profuse crops 
throughout the Territory. The grape of the Rio Grande 
valley has no superior, and wine of g'ood quality is manu- 
factured from it. The rainy season in Arizona is from 
June to September inclusive. 

Professor Henry has, I believe, "demonstrated" that no 
rain falls in Arizona or Sonora. I have not seen his pa- 
per, but understand it is a beautiful theory. It is much 
to be regretted, for his sake, although not for the country, 
that the facts are against it. Cultivation in Arizona is 
by irrigation. It is believed, by those who are capable- 
of judging, that, with subsoil plowing, good crops can be 
obtained without irrigation, and the results of one year 
are quoted in support of the theory. It will take a series 
of years to prove it satisfactorily to the farmer. The 
yield throughout Arizona is two crops from the same 
land each year. 

The population of Arizona to-day [1858] exceeds ten 
thousand souls, exclusive of Indians ; two thirds of it is 
established on the Rio Grande, in the towns of Mesilla, 
Las Cruces, La Mesa, Don Ana, Amoles, Santo Tomas, 
Santa Barbara, Pichacho, and the surrounding ranches, 

B2 



34 Arizona and Sonoixt. 

including the floating population of the Gila gold mines. 
The American population of the Territory is not far from 
two thousand. This is vastly increasing, and the ensuing 
spring will see it vastly increased. The gold discoveries, 
the Overland Mail, which runs throughout the entire 
length of Arizona, tlie large amount of capital invested in 
the silver mines, together with the increasing movement 
westward of our people, will add largely to the already 
vigorous and enterprising population of the new Terri- 
tory. It must be added that there is no law or protec- 
tion from the government : every man redresses his 
wrongs with the pistol or knife, or submits in silence. 

The Gadsden Purchase was not originally an integral 
part of Mexico : it was acquired years after the treaty of 
Guadaloupe Hidalgo, and was only attached to the Ter- 
ritory of New Mexico as a temporary expedient. It 
must also be remembered that the Gadsden Purchase, 
with that portion of New Mexico which it is proposed to 
include within the limits of the Territory of Arizona, is 
separated from New Mexico proper by natural bounda- 
ries ; that it derives no benefit from the present connec- 
tion'; and that any opposition to the desired legislation 
arises from the Mexican population, which fears the influ- 
ence of a large American emigration. Moreover, that 
New Mexico contains upward of 200,000 square miles, and 
that its organic act provides for its partition; showing 
clearly that Congress anticipated at no remote day the 
settlement of the country by an American population, and 
its erection into several territories and states. The only 
eff"ect of the present connection of Arizona with New 
Mexico is to crush out the voice and sentiment of the 
American people in the Territory ; and years of emigra- 
tion under present auspices would not serve to counter- 
balance or equal the influence of the 60,000 Mexican resi- 
dents of New Mexico. New Mexico has never encour- 



Address before the Geographical Society ^\d>5^. 35 

aged American population. She is thoroughly Mexican 
in sentiment, and desires to remain so. 

As a matter of state policy, the organization of Arizona 
is of the first importance. Situated between New Mexi- 
co and Sonora, it is possible now to make it a thoroughly 
American state, which will constantly exert its influence 
in both directions to nationalize the other two. New 
Mexico is at present thoroughly Mexican in its character 
and vote. Sonora, if we acquire it at once, will be the 
same. By separating Arizona from it, and encouraging 
an American emigration, it will become the " leaven 
which shall leaven the Avhole lumi^." By allowing it to 
remain attached to New Mexico, or by attaching it to 
Sonora when acquired, the American influence will be 
swallowed up in the great preponderance of the Mexican 
vote. The Apache Indian is preparing Sonora for the 
rule of a higher civilization than the Mexican. In the 
past half century the Mexican element has disappeared 
from w^hat is now called Arizona, before the devastating 
career of the Apache. It is every day retreating farther 
south, leaving to us (when it is ripe for our possession) 
the territory without the population. 

The American population is mostly concentrated in the 
centre of the Territory, in and near the Santa Cruz valley, 
and on the lower Gila, at the gold mines. The Overland 
Mail Company, by the establishment of their stations at 
intervals rarely exceeding twenty miles, have much facili- 
tated intercourse and travel ; and the emigration of this 
year will cluster around these stations, pouring a line of 
villages across the continent — in the language of the Pres- 
ident, "a chain of American citizens which wdll never be 
broken." The establishment of the Overland Mail is not 
only one of the great triumphs of the age, but it is an ele- 
ment of civilization which none appreciates but the front- 
iersman. 



36 Arizo9ia and Sonora. 

The ores of copper found in Arizona and Sonora are 
iVsually the siilphurets, principally gray. The ores of sil- 
ver are argentiferous galena, native silver, auriferous sul- 
phuret of silver, black sulj^huret of silver, sulphate of sil- 
ver, sulphate of iron combined. The gangue is usually 
quartz or feldspar. I have before me many notes de- 
scriptive of various mineral localities, even to minuteness, 
but the limits of this address' will not permit especial 
mention of them. 

The development of the mineral wealth of Arizona has 
but just commenced, yet enough has been done to give a 
brilliant promise for the future. The Sonora Company, 
under the direction of Charles D. Poston, Esq., and more 
lately under that of Major Heintzelman, of the army, have 
expended a large capital in opening and prospecting their 
rich possessions. The Heintzelman Mine — so called after 
the president of the company — bids fair to become more 
famous than any of the great mines of old Mexico. From 
a late letter it is claimed that the ores thus far smelted 
yield the astonishing average of $950 j^er ton. I saw this 
mine in September of last year. About two hundred 
tons of the ore had already been extracted, and the yield 
from one small furnace was about one thousand ounces 
per week. At a cost of $30,000 the company have 
brought from San Francisco and erected amalgamating 
works, from which they expect to obtain $3000 per day — 
a million a year. This mine has the most extraordinary 
reputation throughout Sonora. I found, in traveling 
through the state, that almost every shopkeeper knew 
the value of the ore. It was obtained from the miners, 
who had stolen, and sold or exchanged it for goods. The 
Sopori* Mine, which has only been worked in a small 
way, promises also a rich yield. I have cut with a pen- 
knife native silver from ore taken from the Sopori. 
* See Appendix. 



Address before the Geographical Society, 1859. 37 

San Antonio and Patagonia have been already men- 
tioned, as Avell as the Compadre Mines. Many others are 
known to exist, and then- owners are only waitiug for the 
protection of a Territorial government to commence work. 
Others are deterred by want of capital. Several hundred 
thousand dollars have already been invested in mines in 
Arizona, and several companies are now forming. It is 
my profound belief that the most colossal fortunes this 
country has ever known will be made from the mines 
of Arizona and Sonora. The Santa Rita copper mine, 
near the Mimbres, has already been mentioned, as has the 
Arizona. On the Colorado, forty miles above the mouth 
of the Gila, on navigable waters, a copper mine is being 
efficiently w^orked. It promises to be inexhaustible, and, 
from its advantageous position, must be immensely valua- 
ble. The ore contains a percentage of gold. Silver has 
also been found on the Colorado, also gold quartz. On 
the Gila copper is abundant. In fact, the Territory of 
Arizona seems inexhaustible in minerals. Iron, copper, 
silver, and gold are found in hundreds of localities. A 
plumbago mine was discovered during the past year. 
Quicksilver is the only metal of which no mention has 
yet been made. I do not know of any in the Territory, 
though its existence is probable. 

Of the great extent of the gold region of Arizona there 
can be no doubt. The late discovery of placers, or sur- 
face diggings, on the Gila, has long been anticipated. 
Emory, in 1849, expressed his belief in its existence. 
Many an emigrant, on his way to California, has found 
"the color." Senator Gwin informs me that he heard 
of gold on the Gila from emigrants at San Diego in 1849. 
All the frontiersmen and trappers unite in saying that 
coarse gold is found in the streams north of the Gila. 
Marcial, the Apache chief before mentioned, told me the 
same. That gold in quartz veins exists in many parts 



38 Arizona and JSonora. 

of the Territory, we know, not only from ancient record 
and tradition, but from actual observation and experi- 
ment. A vein has been opened, and, as soon as it is safe, 
will be worked, in the Apache Pass, four hundred miles 
east of the present placers. Almost every silver and cop- 
jDcr vein yet opened shows, by close analysis, a trace of 
gold. In the Sopori Mine it has gone as high as three 
per cent. At the Santa Kita del Cobre, the Mexican 
miners, after their day's labor is over in the mine, work 
the placers in the vicinity, making sure but small wages. 
Tradition tells ns that many years since the ores of this 
mine were so rich in gold as to pay transportation to the 
city of Mexico on mule-back. A gold placer is believed 
to exist near aPapago village south of Tucson. The evi- 
dence of rich gold placers in northern Sonora is indisput- 
able. Work in them has nearly or quite ceased on ac- 
count of the Apaches, but the record of their past yield 
is enormous. 

The facts in reference to the present condition of the 
Gila gold mines in Arizona are simply these : At a j^oint 
on the Gila River, about twenty miles from its junction 
with the Colorado, and in a succession of sand hills, gold 
was discovered in September, 1858. The emigrants who 
were still on their way stopped, and, the news reaching 
California, others came in. I visited the gold mines early 
in November, and found about one hundred men and sev- 
eral famiUes. A town called Gila City had already been 
laid out, and temporary houses of brush and adobe were 
in the course of erection. I examined carefully for my- 
self, and found that several men could afford to pay la- 
borers three dollars per day and their board to work for 
them. I saw more than twenty dollars washed ont of 
eight shovelfuls of dirt, and this in the rudest manner, 
and by an unpracticed hand. I saw several men whom 
I knew well would not have been there had they not been 



Address before the Geographical Society^ 1859. 39 

doing well, who told me they had made from $30 to $125 
per day each. I i:)m-chased about $300 in gold dust out 
of a lot of more than $2000. A portion of this dust is 
here, if any one is curious enough to wish to see it. Sev- 
eral hundred men have come into the mines since I left 
Arizona. My letters gave me no reason to suppose the 
mines have given out or shown any signs of failure.* 

The country at this point is not inviting, and there are 
always at any gold diggings men who do not and will 
not Avork, and who, if they can not make a living by gam- 
bling, or feeding on some one else, depreciate the coun- 
try. Gold digging is the hardest of all work, and very 
precarious in the richest mines. A man who is earning 
a comfortable subsistence at home should hesitate long 
about giving it up for gold hunting. The old discoveries 
of gold on the Spanish trail from Utah to California in 
1850, the later one in Kansas, at Pike's Peak, and in Ari- 
zona, together with the well-known placers of Sonora, 
establish conclusively the fact of the existence of gold 
throughout a great belt of the continent from north to 
south. I am indebted to the Hon. George Bancroft for 
a copy of a curious and rare letter, which is not out of 
place to mention here. It is dated at Madrid in 1769, 
and is addressed to the Duke de Choiseul, minister of 
foreign aifairs for France, by the French embassador to 
the court of Spain. He says : 

(Extract) 

" Madrid, 6 Fevrier, 1769. 
" M. Galv^s qui a passe dans les Californies, a aussi 
mande qu'elles abondent en mines d'or et d'argent, et que 
ces provinces que I'Espagne ne connaissait, pour ainsi 

* The promise of gold placers has been fully realized on the Colora- 
do and north of the Gila, although the point of first discovery has been 
worked out, or rather deserted for richer districts in 18G3 and 1864. 



40 Arizo7ia and Sooiora. 

clii-e, que de iiom, pouiTont, dans la suite, produire une 
augmentation de revenue, fort considerable. 

" (Signe), OssuN." 

{Translation) 

"Madrid, Feb. 6th, 1769. 
" M. Galves, who has traveled in the Californias, has 
also stated that they abound in mines of gold and silver, 
and that these provinces that Spain has known, so to 
speak, only by name, Avill be able in the future to produce 
a very considerable augmentation of revenue. 

" (Signed), Ossun." 

The conclusions to be drawn from the facts I have thus 
hastily set forth are these : That while Arizona can not 
be called an agricultural state, she has a sufficiency of ar- 
able land to support a large population ; that as a grazing 
and pastural region she has unsurjDassed advantages ; but 
her great wealth is found in her inexhaustible mineral 
resources. There can be no doubt that if Arizona to- 
day did not contain a single acre of arable land, her gold 
and silver, her copper, and iron, and lead, would some 
day make her one of the wealthiest of the states of the 
Union. 

Sonora, of which Western Arizona once formed a part, 
is so closely connected in interest with Arizona that a 
brief mention of her resources and condition is necessary 
to my subject. 

Sonora is bounded on the north by Arizona, on the east 
by the Sierra Madre range of mountains, which separate 
it from Chihuahua, on the south by the River Fuerte, 
which separates it from Sinaloa, and on the west by the 
Gulf of California and the Colorado River, which sepa- 
rate it from Lower California. Its capital is now Hermo- 



Address before the Geographical Society^ 1859. 41 

sillo, was formerly Ures,* and, more anciently, Arizpe. 
This state is at present virtually independent. The gov- 
ernment is vested in a governor, elected by the people, 
and a Legislatm-e, consisting of but one house. Some 
years past the property owners looked forward to annex- 
ation to the United States as an inevitable event. The 
civil war has put an end to these ideas, and peace having 
been established at home, Sonora looks to herself, Avith 
the incidental help given by foreign capital and emigra- 
tion, for her regeneration and future, greatness. That 
this reliance is well founded, the vast improvement in the 
past year is a sure indication. 

In the preliminary advertisement to Zas JVoticias Es- 
tadisticas de So^iora, by Don Jose F. Velasco, a work 
from which I have freely quoted, the author says : 

" It is necessary to say, without equivocation, that if 
there be any state among those which compose the Re- 
public of Mexico of which it is difficult to present exact 
statistics, that state is undoubtedly Sonora. Populated 
by an indigenous people, disseminated over the whole 
state, without laws or politics, and mingled with the na- 
tion of which it forms a part, it is very difficult to ascer- 
tain its numbers from its chiefs. It is for this reason 
that I have been only able to give approximately the 
number of inhabitants. I have only undertaken a work 
that at least approximates toward the truth, limiting my- 
self to certain notices which may give light to other 
writers on the same subject." 

The state of Sonora, thus called by its earliest peoi^le 
of whom we have any knowledge, derives its name, ac- 
cording to the best authorities, from Sonot^ an Opata In- 
dian word, which means Senora^ or 3Iadam. The Con- 
quistadores were treated with great liospitality by the 
Opata Indians while visiting their rancherias or villages. 
* The capital is again fixed at Ures. 



42 Arizona and Sonera. 

As a mark of friendsMp, the Indians strove to imitate the 
Spanish pronunciation Senora^ inste'ad of using their own 
word Se?iot, from which arose the corrupted word Sono- 
ra. Sonora has been divided, by^ various writers, into 
Upper and Lower Sonora — into Pimeria Alta and Pime- 
ria Baja ; and still farther into the subdivisions of Arizpe, 
Cieneguilla, and Horcasitas in the north, with Hostimuri, 
Alamos, and the Pueblas of the Mayo and Yaqui in the 
south. The state formerly included Sinaloa, from which 
it was separated in 1830. It is said to be a part of the 
plan of the present • governor, Pesqueira, to again unite 
these states as the basis of a new confederacy.* 

The people of Sonora are generally docile, and, making 
allowance for the bad system of government and the 
great misery in which they are found, are obedient to the 
constituted authorities : in fact, this remarkable docility 
amounts to weakness of character, and which ambitious 
revolutionary chiefs have taken advantage of to forward 
their own views. For many years there has been much 
suffering from revolutions and Indian depredations, and 
without hoj^e, until now, for the better, it is not surpris- 
ing that the Sonoranese lost his energy of character. He 
gambled to divert himself and pass away time, and, w^ith- 
out hope for the future, he allowed things to take their 
course — a perfect fatalist. Some become desperate, and 
take unlawful measures to better their condition. It is 
an unquestionable fact that the association with Ameri- 
cans, regular labor and assured employment, dependent 
upon good behavior, is fast regenerating the Sonoranese. 
The miners and farm laborers show great ambition to 
emulate the work of an American, and to prove that they 
can do as much in the same time. It only requires a 
skillful hand and a good government to make the shift- 

* Not confirmed. A close alliance, however, exists between the 
governments of the two states. 



Address before the Geographical /Society, 1859. 43 

less Sonoranese of the present clay a useful member of 
society. Comparatively few educated men are found in 
Sonora — a common education consisting of reading and 
writing, and I believe that in the whole population it does 
not exceed ten per cent, more, particularly in the frontier 
towns. A leading trait in their character is hospitality, 
and " let the morrow take care of itself" is a common 
expression in their mouths. He will share his last mouth- 
ful, and considers it a matter of course for the stranger 
to take his place at his board. The Avomen are kind- 
hearted, obedient to their husbands, who rule them gen- 
erally with a rod of iron. " Strong-minded" women are 
not known, and usually peace reigns in their homes. 

Sonora, for the most part, is mountainous, watered by 
several small rivers, abundant in mineral wealth ; in fact, 
is considered to be one of the richest states of the Mex- 
ican dominion. There is a sufficiency of agricultural 
land to maintain a large population ; but the true rich- 
ness of Sonora consists in its mines of silver and gold, 
and the great facilities for raising stock. The mines at 
present are but little worked, owing to the Apaches and 
revolutions ; but, laboring under all these disadvantages, 
she is still able to export annually several millions of dol- 
lars in silver bars and gold dust, large quantities of stock 
to California and the Territory of Arizona ; also flour to 
the adjoining state of Sinaloa. 

The most famous mines and mining districts (minerals) 
are those of Alamos, situated in the district of that name, 
and property of the Almadas, Gomez y Urreas ; mine of 
Subiate, near Hermosillo, property of the Monteverdes ; 
"mineral" of San Xavier, San Marcial, St. Teresa de Jesus, 
property of Ynigo, Cubillas & Co. ; the famous mine or 
mineral of Babacanora, at present worked by a French 
company; mine of Baramachi, the richest mine discover- 
ed within the last two years, having yielded 81000 to the 



44 Arizona and Sonora. 

nine hundred weight of ore and very abundant in ore — 
at present the yiekl is not so great; mine of Corral Viejo, 
gold, silver, and lead; La Canauea, silver, copper, and 
lead ; La Guachuca ; las Planchas de Plata.* 

On the opposite side of the mountain of Babacanora, 
at the distance of about a league and a half, is found the 
Real del Carmen, celebrated for its great mine of that 
name, and which has been worked to a great extent. It 
still yields a good profit to the " Gamhussiiio^^'' a sort of 
mining filibuster, who works regardless of the future of the 
mine. Ores are still found which yield from ten to twen- 
ty marcs to the carga. The ores are native silver, aurif- 
erous silver, gangue, quartz. This mine was Avorked in 
the first years of the Spanish conquest of Mexico by Her- 
nan Cortez, in later years by a company of Spaniards, 
who found a chart and description of the mines in the ar- 
chives of Mexico. It is remembered by the oldest inhab- 
itant of Sinoquipe that native silver, six inches wide, was 
cut out of the vein and melted in the refining furnace 
without more treatment than a lead bath. This company, 
owing to the changes which took place in the Mexican 
territory, stopped work, carrying oflT with them several 
trains of mules loaded with silver; the mine then partly 
filled with water, and the gambussinos, who have been 
and are the cause of the destruction of so many good 
mines, commenced operations, cutting out the upper pil- 
lars and supports, and in a short time the mine fell in, 
leaving treasure to an enormous amount buried in the 
ruins ; in later days shafts have been sunk on the same 
lode, worked, and ores rich in silver have been encounter- 
ed, paying from fifteen to twenty marcs to the nine cwt. 
In the rubbish which was thrown out of the old mine, a 
comfortable subsistence is gained by washing in bateas — 

* See a subsequent chapter for a full description of several Sonora 



Address before the Geographical JSociet^, 1859. 45 

quantities of grain silver being found which, refined in 
the furnace, yield from twenty-five to thirty per cent, 
pure metal. This, and several other mines of Sonora, 
have been abandoned, not from the ores having failed or 
depreciated in value, but from the want of energy in the 
Mexican race. The mines in the hands of the Spaniards 
yielded enormous profits to the miner ; they were men 
of indomitable enterprise, who employed capital, science, 
and spared no expense to succeed in their adventures; 
whereas the Mexican is poor, without energy, and too 
lazy to trust or help himself. Formerly, Sonora the rich 
was a proverb ; now, Sonora the poor is a stubborn fact 
— but not from the want of the elements of richness. 
These once developed, she will once more become Sonora 
the rich, and may be great. 

"In the Real of Babacanora," writes John Denton Hall, 
Esq., to whom I make grateful acknowledgments for many 
of the facts connected with Sonora, "a miner is enchant- 
ed, and his hopes raised by seeing the beautiful formation 
which the whole district presents, more particularly that 
portion which comprises the * Sierra del Oregano,' which, 
viewed from the houses, presents a magnificent spectacle. 
My poor pen can not do it justice, so I shall content my- 
self in stating a few facts concerning it which came to 
my knowledge : Veins of ore rich in silver are known to 
exist, from the fact of ore being found in several parts of 
the mountain. Many capitals have been invested and 
lost in speculations utterly worthless; whereas a small 
one, invested in making a good search and prospect of this 
mountain, would not be lost. This statement I make aft- 
er many years mining experience ; myself and many oth- 
er miners who know the mountain will stake our credit 
on many tons of precious metal being hid in its interior. 
The formation clay state— the richest in Sonora— the fiict 
of rich ore having been found on its sides and ravines, 



46 Arizona and Sonora. 

and the number of rich mines in the vicinity, all lead me 
to suppose such to be the case. The mines on mines of 
El Oregano must wait until some adventurous miner will 
expend a thousand or two to enrich himself with mil- 
lions. 

"Mention has been made of an ancient population. 
On making particular inquiries respecting them, I find 
that they are common in all paf ts of the Sonora River, 
and even on the River Gila. The River Sonora, from its 
length, quantity of water, and abundance of cultivable 
land, is peculiarly adapted to maintain a large population. 
Many of the ruins are of great extent, covering whole ta- 
ble-lands, proving that in former times Sonora was much 
more thickly peopled than at present. Undoubtedly some 
regularity was observed in laying out these towns. In 
one I found what appeared to have been a fort ; by its 
position it was well calculated for defense. Unfortunate- 
ly, no docum-ents exist from which dates could be taken, 
the archives, and all belonging to the mission, having been 
destroyed at the time the Jesuits were expelled. It is a 
known fact here, and I believe in many other countries, 
that the order of Jesuits have done more toward civiliza- 
tion among the Indians than any other religious order in 
existence. It is undoubtedly the case in Sonora; the 
ruins they have left behind them prove that they were 
equal to the task they undertook; and among the old 
people their kindness and wisdom are still remembered 
and talked of. * * * * * 

" The tradition is current here, and in all parts of the 
Opata nation, that the great Montezuma was the chief of 
their tribe, and a great warrior. After subjecting the 
other tribes to his rule, he determined on building himself 
a city to live in on the River Gila — in Casas Blancas. He 
commenced operations : not liking the situation, or being 
somewhat disturbed in his work by the Apaches — the 



Address before the Geographical Society ^IQbQ. 47 

only tribe which had not submitted to his rule, joined to 
the bad omens observed by the priests — he determined 
to travel in search of a good location, favored by his gods. 
At the time of commencing his new journey, an eagle 
was observed to be hovering over the camp ; orders were 
given to observe the bird's flight, and its resting-place 
ascertained ; his commands were obeyed implicitly, and 
the eagle was found in the Lake of Mexico, perched on 
an opal, with a rattlesnake in its beak. Here Montezuma 
founded the city of Mexico, which would have remained 
in his possession up to the present date if Hernan Cortez 
and his gallant adventurers had not disturbed his calcula- 
tions in a most important manner. Such is the tradition, 
and it is considered heresy among the Opatas not to be- 
lieve it. Eagle, snake, and opal is the escutcheon of Mex- 
ico. Snake alone would be more appropriate. 

"Humboldt mentions in his travels havino: seen the 
ruins of Casa Blanca, on the River Gila. Another tradi- 
tion is current also of Montezuma having told the con- 
querors of Mexico that it would be an easy matter for 
them to subject to their rule the whole of the Indian 
tribes, but the Apaches never. We shall see what Uncle 
Sam can do Tvith them in a short time." 

The yield of the silver mines of Mexico, as compared 
by Ward and Humboldt from the actual official returns 
to the government, from the conquest to 1803, amounts 
to the enormous sum of $2,027,855,000, or more than 
TWO BILLIONS of dollar s ! Again, Ward says : "I am 
aware that many of the statements in this and the j)re- 
ceding books respecting the mineral riches of the north 
of New Spain (Sonora, including the Gadsden Purchase, 
Chihuahua, and Durango) will be thought exaggerated. 
They are not so. They will be confirmed by every fu- 
ture report ; and in after years, the public, familiarized 
with facts which are only questioned because they are 



48 Arizona and Sooiora. 

uew, will Avonder at its present incredulity, and regret 
the loss of advantages which may not always be within 
its reach." 

Gold dust has been found in abundance in the placers 
of San Francisco la Cienga, Las Llanos, Ouisabaquita, St. 
Perfecto ; and Soni is famous for its gold mines, also Co- 
cuspera and Baba Seco ; in the district of the Pueblo of 
Cucurpe gold is found in abundance; during the rainy 
season in Baquachi, district of Arizpe, it is also found in 
quantities which pay well. In a word, Sonora, consider- 
ed in a mineral point of view, equals, if not surpasses, the 
richest country in the known world, and only requires 
capital, peace, and a liberal government. The new Ter- 
ritory of Arizona, which formerly belonged to this state, 
is considered by the Sonoranese to be the richest portion 
of their country. 

The climate is good. The rainy season sets in in June, 
and lasts till the beginning of September; from this month 
until March occasional showers fall. The cold is never 
severe, the weather being very similar to that in Califor- 
nia in the same months. From March until the rain sets 
in in June is considered the dry season. The heats are 
never oppressive — less so than in California. Two crops 
are raised from off the same land in the year, and which 
for abundance can not be surpassed in any country — 
wheat, maize, beans, peas, etc., being the general grain 
that is cultivated. Sugar-cane is planted in great quanti- 
ties in Hermosillo, San Miguel, Ures, Rayon, Oposura, 
Saguaripa, Huepaca, and the Rio Yaqui. A coarse kind 
of sugar is made called panocha, Avhich yields to the cul- 
tivator an excellent return for his labor, generally selling 
at $25 the cargo of three hundred weight. In all parts 
of the state most excellent tobacco is raised. Cotton is 
sown by the Indians on the Rio Yaqui, and the grub (cot- 
ton worm) is hardly known in the crops. The average 



Address before the Geographical Society^ 1859. 49 

price of wheat is eight dollars the cargo of three hundred 
weight, beans and jDeas six dollars. 

The state is divided into nine districts, each being gov- 
erned by a prefect, who is appointed by the governor, and 
is responsible for the good conduct of his district. The 
port of Guaymas at present is the only port of entry.* 
It is a small, but, in the business part, a well-built town, 
containing about six thousand inhabitants. The harbor 
of Guaymas is the best on the Pacific coast. Four miles 
long, with an inner and outer bay, it will admit ships of 
the heaviest tonnage, and the commerce of the world 
could be transacted at this port. The entrance is jDro- 
tected by a long island, which makes it doubly secure.f 

• The principal rivers of Sonora are the Fuerte, the Ya- 
qui, the Mayo, and the Sonora. The Yaqui enters the 
Gulf of California eighteen miles below Guaymas. It has 
a dangerous bar, but it is believed to be navigable for 
light-draft steamers to Buena Vista,J eighty miles from 

* Libertad, in latitude 29° 53' N., has recently been opened. 

t The following letter is from the head of the well-known mercan- 
tile house of Juan A. Robinson, of Guaymas, Sonora, San Francisco, 
and other points. It is proper to say that the actual export is nearer 
five millions than three, a large amount of bullion being exported 
yearly without going through the custom-house. The trade of Mazat- 
Ian is nearer twelve millions than nine. 

" Guaymas, October 12, 1S5S. 

' * Dear Sir, — In reply to your inquiries regarding the trade of this 
port, I would observe, the merchandise principally consumed is from 
England direct, and occasionally from the United States,-including 
goods from the European continent and the East Indies. The amount 
of imports may be calculated at about three millions per annum of for- 
eign goods, besides a considerable amount of the different manufactures 
of this republic. Returns are made in gold and silver bullion. And, 
lastly, wheat and hides [the exports of the former] may be calculated 
at three millions per annum, and say half a million of the other arti- 
cles, including copper. Our trade is evidently on the increase. Re- 
garding INIazatlan, from personal observation 1 should judge that the 
business done there is about three times more than that of this port, 
their exports being in coined silver and gold, Brazil wood and hides, 
principally. I remain, dear sir, in haste, your obedient servant, 

"Juan A. Robinson. 

" Hon. Sylvester MoAvry, Delegate from Arizona." 
X Doubtful.— S. M. 

c 



50 Arizona and Sonora. 

its month. The Sonora River flows through the Arizpe 
valley, which is called the garden of Sonora. It is almost 
wholly in the hands of the Apaches. The desolation of 
the depopulated towns and ranches is melancholy beyond 
description. The valleys of the Yaqui, Mayo, and Fu- 
erte are the best sugar-lands in the world. 

Ures is a small city of about seven thousand inhabit- 
ants, and is situated about sixty leagues from Guaymas. 
Hermosillo is the largest city, containing from fourteen 
to fifteen thousand inhabitants. It is the centre of com- 
merce. It is one hundred and ten miles north of Guay- 
mas.* The next in size and importance is Heal de Ala- 
mos, situated on the frontiers of Sinaloa: it contains from 
five to six thousand inhabitants ; it is the centre of a large 
mining district, as its name implies — Real meaning town 
or city of mines. Oposura, Saguaripa, Rayon, St. Miguel, 
and Arispe, the ancient capital of Sonora, are large towns, 
with populations of from four to five thousand each. The 
entire population of Sonora does not exceed one hundred 
and thirty-five thousand, comprising Mexicans (jente de 
razon)^ Opatas, Yaquis, Mayos, Taumales, and Papagos : 
this population, instead of increasing, is decreasing — the 
Apaches, revolutions, and emigrations to California and 
Arizona producing this efiect ; and in a few years, if some 
change does not take place, Sonora will become depopu- 
lated. Mr. Hall, the friend to whom I am indebted for 
many of these notes, says ; 

" After so many years' residence among them, I natur- 
ally feel an interest in their welfare, firmly believing that 
the grain of gold in their character among so much dross 
is worthy of seeking out, and will repay the finders. The 

* A mint has been established at Hermosillo, which is in successful 
operation, having all the modern mechanical appliances for coining 
gold, silver, and copper. The right to coin is a monopoly in the hands 
of capitalists. The present superintendent is Mr. Symonds, an English 
subject, assisted by Mr. Bowring and Mr. Montcverde. 



Address before the Geographiccd Society^ 1859. 61 

United States could do it, and would to God it should be 
so; and I and many others will be found ready to co- 
operate in any just and honest mode of bringing round a 

mutual good understanding But one conclusion 

can be drawn of the State of Sonora, and that is, in order 
to redeem to the Sonoranese his character, life, and for- 
tune, it is necessary to subject or utterly annihilate the 
savage Apache, who has served as the destroying angel 
to this fine country. It is the most sure and ready way 
to gain the eternal gratitude and friendship of the peo- 
ple, and annexation of one of the richest countries in 
the known w^orld, which will also serve as another con- 
necting link of the great chain of commerce with the In- 
dies." 

Velasco says, in concluding his review of Sonora and 
the Sonoranese : 

"In truth this is a most sorrowful scene; it horrors 
one to consider the state of prostration which we are 
now in, by the continued bad feeling of party, which 
keeps us savage in civil war, and all the while forgetting 
our own interests. For parties to harass each other mu- 
tually; for brother to slaughter brother to satisfy re- 
venge, etc., in a moment, are formed enthusiastic masses ; 
but the same does not happen when the common enemy 
is to be punished, who are now with gigantic strides de- 
stroying the country. Until the Sonoranese shall know 
that as long as they do not bury in the fold of their coun- 
try, and each one give a brotherly embrace in good faith, 
we shall continue to be the plaything of passions the 
most strong and savage." 

Having had considerable practical experience on the 

plains, four journeys overland across the continent in the 

past four years,* I was desirous of stating a few facts, 

showing the comparative merits of the difterent routes 

* Since doubled. 



52 Arizona and Sonora. 

for a Pacific railroad. The limits of this address will not 
permit, and I therefore turn from the subject, with the 
prediction that the route known as the Southern, along 
the 3 2d parallel, is the only one that will be built in this 
generation.* Every exploration has shown it to be not 
only the most practicable, but probably the only practi- 
cable route. The advocates of this route point to the 
significant fact that the mail from San Antonio to San 
Diego has never once failed in eighteen months of opera- 
tion, winter or summer. The Great Overland Mail makes 
its best time on the 32d parallel, and that portion of the 
route denounced as the worst, from El Paso west, has 
proved itself the best. Thirteen hundred miles by stage 
in December or January in less than eight days. Is there 
any other route on the continent where this can be ac- 
complished ? Not on the Salt Lake route. It is wholly 
impracticable. Not on the Albuquerque route, else Lieu- 
tenant Beale would not go into winter quarters. On the 
32d parallel no winter quarters are necessary. It is use- 
less to attempt to evade this question of climate on so ex- 
tended a route. In addition, the 3 2d parallel is by far 
the most level, and has the most water at all seasons of 
the year. (See Lieutenant Parke's Report.) The first 
terminus of the Pacific railroad will be Guaymas, on the 
Gulf of California. From El Paso to Guaymas the dis- 
tance is only about four hundred miles — at most four 
hundred and fifty. It will run across the Guzman valley 
through the Guadalupe or some more southern pass to 
Arizpe, thence to Ures, thence to Hermosillo, thence to 
Guaymas. It can be built most, if not all the way, for 
$10,000 per mile, and put in running condition. It would 
pay to-day between Hermosillo and Guaymas in freight 
alone. It will traverse a rich agricultural and mining 
country, and can connect with San Francisco and all the 
* See Speech of Jefferson Davis in a subsequent chapter. 



Acldress before the Geographical Society^ 1859. 53 

Pacific by steamers. A branch from Arizona down the 
valley of the San Ignacio would give Arizona the outlet 
she so much desires for her productions. It connects 
with the Texas road at El Paso, and, notwithstanding all 
the predictions to the contrary, the Texas road will be 
built. Should it be deemed desirable to extend at once 
to the Pacific, a steam ferry across the Gulf of California, 
and short railroad across Lower California to a roadstead 
on the Pacific, accomjDlishes the desired end. If these 
views were elaborated, they could be supported by an 
array of evidence not to be overthrown. 

In a report made to the Viceroy of Spain during the 
early settlement of the province of Arizona and Sonora 
is found the following words : " A scientific exploration 
of Sonora, with reference to mineralogy, along Avith the 
introduction of families, will lead to a discovery of gold 
and silver so marvelous, that the result will be such as 
has never yet been seen in the world." The Spanish race 
have but just touched these treasures. It remains for 
the American people to make good the prediction. With 
the organization of Arizona and the acquisition of Sonora, 
a new impetus will be given to the Pacific. The Mexican 
population will recede before the energy of American ca- 
reer. At Guaymas a city will go up which shall have no 
parallel in the magic of her increase except San Francis- 
co. The auri sacra fames is as strong to-day as in the 
days of old. Allured by the story of the new El Dora- 
do which is just opening, tens of thousands of emigrants 
will hurry thither. Our empire on the Pacific is just 
founded. Its growth in the future will equal that of the 
past, if the United States seizes the golden opportunity 
now oflering. The wealthiest and most delightful of 
countries will be redeemed from the barbarism into which 
it is so fast falling. An immense market will be opened 
for northern productions ; commerce will again be stim- 



^* Arizona and Sonora. 

lUated as it' was by California; and the predictions of 
Humboldt, that the balance between gold and silver 
would one day be restored, will be made good from the 
treasures of Arizona and Sonora. 



Condition of Arizona from 1859 ^o 1864. 55 



CHAPTER 11. 

CONDITION OF ARIZONA FROM 1S59 TO 1S64. 

Eapid Advance of Arizona. — Reverses. — Withdrawal of the Overland 
Mail. — Ravages of the Apaches. — Mining Discoveries. — The Heint- 
zelman and other Mines. — The Military Position. — The Mowry Sil- 
ver Mines. — Arrest of the Proprietor. — His Release. — The Mines 
worked on Government Account. — The Apaches, and how to deal 
with them. — General Carleton. — Arizona in 1864. — Progress of the 
Mines.— The Mowry Mines.— Mr. Kiistel's Report. — The Bounda- 
ries and Organization of the Territory, 

The history of Arizona since 1859 has two aspects — 
one of great and steady improvement, the other of calam- 
ity and decline. The first was the natural result of the 
development of the great natural resources of the Terri- 
tory ; the second of fortuitous circumstances, and the 
shameful abandonment and neglect of the country by the 
administration at "Washington. The uninterrupted suc- 
cess of the Great Overland Mail brought in its train a 
constantly increasing immigration. The valleys of the 
Santa .Cruz, Sonoita, San Pedro, and Mimbres were rap- 
idly filling up with farmers, while on the Gila many thou- 
sand dollars were expended in taking out acequias, and 
redeeming the rich bottom lands at available points. 
The Federal Government promised protection, and did, in 
fact, estabhsh new military posts to protect the infant 
settlement. These posts, however, were poorly garrison- 
ed. The troops were mostly infantry — almost useless to 
pursue or punish the Apaches. The small cavalry force 
in the Territory, although most ably handled by Captain 
R. S. Ewell, First Dragoons, United States Army (since 
Major General Ewell of the Confederate Army), was en- 



66 Arizona and JSonora. 

tirely unable to mak^a campaign with decisive results 
against the Indians. In spite of this serious drawback 
new mines were opened, capital obtained in the East for 
their develoi3ment ; the farmers flourished and built per- 
manent improvements, and each year showed a decided 
advance upon the last. 

The change came suddenly and without warning. The 
Overland Mail was withdrawn, then the troops, and the 
settlements in the valleys above-named succumbed almost 
at once to the attacks of the Apaches. Many lives were 
lost ; property of all description was abandoned ; crops to 
an enormous amount were left standing in the ^fields, 
never to be gathered. Never was desolation so sudden, 
so comj^lete. In my late journey from Tucson to Guay- 
mas, I passed over one hundred and fifty miles of beauti- 
ful country, studded with ranches and farms, where at 
every step were found comfortable houses, out-buildings, 
fences, and tilled fields utterly abandoned and tenantless. 
The mining interest suflered at the same time. Partly 
through the cowardice of agents and superintendents, 
partly through the fault of Eastern directors, the various 
silver mines in Central Arizona were temporarily aban- 
doned, and I was left with a handful of men who were 
willing to share my fortune, and, if Fate so willed, it, be 
the last Americans in the Territory to fall by the lance 
or arrow of the Apache. We not only survived, but we 
built up a great work in the heart of the country ; thor- 
oughly demonstrated the great value of the mines ; and, 
what is more and better, proved conclusively that the 
Apaches are no obstacle to working in the Territory, 
compared to the great result to be accomplished. It is 
sufiicient proof of this that I did not lose two hours' 
work in ten months on account of the Indians. Some 
valuable lives were lost, but it was by recklessly disre- 
garding my repeated injunctions and directions. 



Condition of Arizona from 1859 to 1864. 57 

The Territory has been occupied by Confederate troops, 
but in small force, except on the Rio Grande. After 
their retreat before the forces of General Canby — not 
General Carleton, as is falsely stated — Arizona Avas occu- 
pied, and remained in the possession of the California Vol- 
unteers. 

The gold fields on the Gila River, alluded to as a new 
discoveryln my address, proved limited in extent ; and 
although worked mostly by Mexicans for several years 
with a large yield of gold, were deserted about a year 
ago for the more attractive placers of the Colorado. It 
is said that an enterprise is on foot, under the auspices of 
well-known business men, to bring water from the Gila 
on to this ground by steam power. The result can 
scarcely fail to richly reward the authors of the enter- 
prise [1863]. 

At various points along the Colorado, on both sides of 
the river, gold has been found capriciously disseminated, 
some spots yielding enormously, others nothing. Chim- 
ney Peak, eighteen miles l&'om Fort Yuma, was in IsTo- 
vember and December a favorite locality. La Paz, about 
one hundred and eighty miles above Fort Yuma, was 
previously a great attraction, and is since. At this point 
quite "a village had grown up when I visited it in No- 
vember, 1862. The population was then about eight 
hundred, and increasing. No distinct or well-defined 
ledges had then been discovered, but the most beautiful 
specimens of gold quartz, silver, copper, silver-lead, and 
silver and copper I ever saw, had been found, all of which, 
upon assay, gave astonishing results. I am informed 
since that extensive ledges have been discovered and are 
being prospected in this district. Copper has also been 
found below La Paz, at difierent points on and near the 
river. Salt has been found near the Colorado in such 
large deposits as to guarantee a supply of this very nec- 

C2 



58 Arizona and Sonora. 

essaiy aid to the reduction of the refractory silver ores. 
Adventurous " prospectors" have penetrated the country 
lying between the Gila and Colorado, beyond the Desert 
belt, and, making a temporary peace with the Tonto 
Apaches, have found on the head waters of the Salinas 
and San Francisco Rivers and their small tributaries 
good gold prospects, and an abundance of water for 
sluicing. All these parties, from whom I have notes of 
their explorations, confirm the reports made to me sever- 
al years since by "Weaver, the old " mountain man," and 
by Apache and Pimo chiefs, of the existence of rich val- 
leys, heavy timber, and fine pasture -lands north of the 
Gila. The country li&rth of La Paz, near the Colorado 
on both sides, is at present attracting much attention, 
and great discoveries are daily reported. The naviga- 
tion of the Colorado by steamers to the vicinity of these 
mines must make them very valuable at no distant day. 

The mines in Central Arizona, in the Santa Cruz and 
Santa Rita Mountains, and near the Sonora line, have been 
fully prospected, and no doubt now exists in the minds 
of the well-informed of their great value. The Ileint- 
zelman Mine, now owned, I believe, almost entirely by 
the heirs of Colonel Samuel Colt, is not at present work- 
ed, owing, I believe, to the death of Colonel Colt. There 
is no doubt of the richness of this mine. It was fully 
proved under the management of Mr. Ktistel. Magnifi- 
cent machinery for the Freyburg barrel-process, with en- 
gines of eighty horse power, were sent out from New 
York three years since, the whole manufactured under 
the personal supervision of Colonel Colt, whose mechan- 
ical genius has rarely been surpassed. Jealousy on the 
part of Western stockholders, and an insane fear that 
Colt would " freeze" them all out, delayed the erection 
of this machinery ; bad management at the mine, and 
other causes, impeded progress until the troops were 



Condition of Arizona from 1859 jfo 1864. 59 

withdrawn from the country, and the last manager for 
the company, Mr. C. D. Poston, turning over his right to 
Colt, left for the East. The present superintendent, Col- 
onel F. T. Lally, ha^, he informs me, opened a new shaft, 
in whii3h he has struck very rich metal; but, as above 
stated, work is now suspended. During the temporary 
abandonment of this mine, the Mexican " gambussinos" 
carried away immense quantities of rich metal ; and the 
village of Saric — just over the Mexican line, where the 
ore was reduced — flourished and grew rich upon the fol- 
ly of the Eastern managers. 

The Sopori and Arizona Land and Mining Companies, 
Avho own a vast tract of mineral, grazing, and arable laud 
in the Santa Cruz valley and vicinity, have also suspend- 
ed operations. Their stock is held in good hands, and 
will be good property. They intend, I am informed, to 
recommence operations at an early day. Some of the 
heaviest Eastern capitalists are the princiiDal owners of 
these stocks. 

The Santa Rita Company own some valuable mines 
north of the town of Tubac. They suspended operations 
at a time when success Avas just in their reach, partly, I 
believe, from bad management, and partly from the with- 
drawal of the troops. They will, I presume, recommence, 
now that a large military force occupies the Territory.* 

* The separation of Arizona from the Military Department of Cali- 
fornia is a great mistake. Under any circumstances, if economy and 
time are consulted, army supplies must be drawn from California, 
The military posts called Fort M'Lane and Fort Breckenridge were 
established by the War Department upon the recommendation of the 
writer, while Western Arizona was placed under the control of Gener- 
al Clarke, United States Army, then commanding the Pacific Depart- 
ment. General Clarke did me the honor to consult me on several oc- 
casions, and at his request I selected a site for a new military post near 
the mouth of the Salinas, a few miles from the Pimos villages. This 
post must some day be established. The views of General Clarke 
were similar to my own in reference to supplying Arizona from Cali- 
fornia. 



60 Arizona and Sonora. 

Many mines — the San Pedro, San Antonio, Buenavista, 
Empire, and others in Central Arizona — have been ojDen- 
ed, but want of capital and the condition of the country- 
have retarded their development. 

They will, before long, become permanent and valuable 
investments. Near the Mexican line, south of Tucson, 
the Cahuabi and Fresnal Mines are being successfully 
worked by Senor Padrez and other Mexicans. The patio 
process is adopted with good results. A large amount 
of silver is taken out monthly. There is a rich field here 
for California capital, which must inevitably find its way 
there before many months.- All the mines above men- 
tioned, except the San Antonio, are of the so-called hard 
ores — sulphurets of silver with copper combined. 

If a sound judgment prevails at Washington (which may be ration- 
ally doubted), Arizona will be again restored to the command of Gen- 
eral Wright, in whom the troops, as well as the people, recognize a 
true-hearted gentleman and intelligent soldier — qualities they have 
failed to discover in the individual now exercising command over the 
Territory. 

It should be said that the reports of travelers by the Southern Over- 
land Mail, that Arizona is a desert, should be taken cum grano sails. 
Almost any man unaccustomed to such a journey, w^orn out with fa- 
tigue and want of sleep, would imagine himself in Hell even if passing 
through Paradise. It w^ould be about as fair to judge California from 
San Bernardino and San Diego counties, as to judge Arizona from 
the country west of Tucson. The letters from the California Column, 
published in several of the California newspapers, are mostly written 
to inflate some balloon reputation that will get a woful collapse some 
day, or to accomplish some private end (for example, the shameful at- 
tack upon General Canby, a most able, patriotic soldier and gentle- 
man). They are certainly not intended to enlighten the public. 
There is no necessity to assert what is deliberately false about the 
country in order to compliment the march of the California Volun- 
teers to New Mexico. The march was as good a one as could have 
been made under so inefficient a general. The men are entitled to 
great credit, as much for their patient endurance of uncalled-for, un- 
military, and arduous labors, as for their march. 

Under a competent commander, the march could have been made 
in better time, and with far greater ease to the men. Under one who 
had any regard for the truth, the commander-in-chief and the public 
would hayp ,had the facts in connection with it, and not a romance 
which, ^//^Qrthy a place in a new edition of Munchausen. — S. M., 
1863. • 



Condition of Arizona from 1859?ol864. 61 

In the Santa Cruz Mountains, about eighty miles east 
of Tucson, is an immense deposit of silver-lead ores, ar- 
gentiferous galena, of extraordinary richness. The sul- 
phurets of lead and silver, mingled with the carbonates, 
give re^ilts previously unheard of by mineralogists. 

The only portion of this district yet largely developed 
is the "Mowry Silver Mines," the property of the writer. 
The main shaft of these mines has been sunk to the 
depth of more than two hundred feet, with galleries and 
auxiliary shafts a thousand feet more. Prospecting 
shafts have been sunk at various places, and tunnels 
opened along the lead, on the property of the writer 
(twenty-six hundred feet in extent), in all of which pay- 
ing ores have been " struck" at from ten to one hundred 
feet from the surface. About $200,000 has been expend- 
ed in the purchase of these mines, erection of reduction 
works, houses for laborers, and every thing necessary 
for an extensive and permanent establishment, including 
steam-engine and mill. Under exceedingly adverse cir- 
cumstances, in a country abandoned except by my own 
people, the mines were thoroughly opened, and a large 
quantity of ore reduced. It was my intention to have 
used only the reverberatory* process for the reduction 
of my ores, but, on account of the long continuance of the 
rainy season of 1861, 1 was forced to begin with the Or- 
nos Castellanos (the common upright German or Mexi- 
can blast furnace), exceedingly simple in construction, 
and requiring but little skill or science to work. Several 
months' experience w4th these furnaces has convinced 
me of the great waste in silver resulting from their use, 
although the w^orking proved remunerative beyond my 
expectation. I am satisfied that the loss in silver is, 

* Later experience has proved conclusively that an improved blast- 
furnace is the best for reducing ores similar to those of the Mowry 
Mines. The reverberatory furnaces proved a faihire. ISG-l. 



62 Arizona and Bonora. 

under the best circumstances, at least twenty -five per 
cent., and generally more, owing to careless attendance 
and the inability to regulate the heat or the blast. The 
fault was in the construction of the furnaces, not in the 
j^rinciple. There are twelve of these furnaces at the re- 
duction works, six of which are run alternate weeks. 
The yield is of course lead and silver, which is shipped 
to Euroj^e in bars weighing about seventy pounds each. 
These bars sell in England at from |200 per ton upward, 
giving a clear profit over all expenses — mining, smelting, 
freight, insurance, and commissions — of over $100 j^er 
ton. A portion of these bars are refined at the mines in 
the English cupel furnace (the Mexican vaso)^ to suj^ply 
silver for the payment of current expenses. The silver 
is moulded into bars, from $2 up to $300, and is a ready 
and convenient circulating medium in a country where 
coin exists only in the memory of some individual who 
has been in California. Twenty-five tons of the Mowry 
ores were sent to Europe as specimens in 1862. The 
result was an offer of £50 sterling (-1!;2o0) per ton for the 
ore as it ran, properly cleaned. The results to be ob- 
tained from these ores treated by the improved furnace 
are much greater than by the j^resent method. 

In June, 1862, the proprietor of the Mowry Silver 
Mines was seized by a large armed force, under the or- 
ders of General J. H. Carleton, while in the legitimate 
l^ursuit of his business, and retained as a political prison- 
er for nearly six months. This seizure was made upon a 
false, ridiculous, and malicious charge. After nearly six 
months' close imprisonment the writer was discharged, 
" there being no evidence^'' (in the opinion of the court 
which tried his case), '■'-either oral or documentary^ 
against hhnf* a charming commentary upon the consti- 
tutional guarantee to every citizen of " life, property, and 
the pursuit of happiness." The mines were placed in the 



Condition of Arizona from 1859 ifo 1864. 63 

hands of a dishonest and imcompetent man as govern- 
ment receiver, who did much damage, caused great loss, 
and finally, on being obliged to give up his place, made 
away with nearly all the goods, Avood, coal, arms, and 
stores at the mines. ISTo improvements wxre made dur- 
ing this person's administration, and the property now 
being held by the Federal Government, under pretense of 
the Confiscation Act, none can bo made by the owner 
until his property is restored to his j)ossession. This 
will undoubtedly be done as soon as the authorities at 
Washington can be heard from, as the seizure was illegal, 
and dictated by personal hostility on the part of General 
Carleton.* 

* The following is an extract from the Journal of the Senate of the 
United States, June 13, 1864 : 

"The President jwo tempore presented a message from the Secre- 
tary of War, covering a report of the Adjutant General, in reply to 
the resolution of the Senate of May 20, 18G4, relating to the seizure 
of the silver mine of Sylvester Mowry, in Arizona, by order of Gener- 
al Carleton, commander in New Mexico, and asking by what authori- 
ty the mine is now worked, and what disposition is made of the pro- 
ceeds. 

"The Adjutant General relates the fact of the arrest of Mr. Mowry, 
under order of General Carleton, on the 8th of June, 18G2, on a charge 
of treasonable complicities with the rebels, and in view of a circular is- 
sued by Brigadier General Wright, commanding the Department of 
the Pacific, declaring all property of enemies of the United States sub- 
ject to confiscation. The property of Mowry was also seized, and a 
board of investigation appointed by General Carleton reported it as 
their opinion that he had given aid and comfort to the enemy, and 
that there was, sufficient reason to restrain him of his liberty, and 
bring him to trial before a military commission. Mowry was then 
confined, July 2d, in Fort Yuma, California, awaiting trial ; but on 
November 4, 18G2, was unconditionally released, under orders from 
our War Department, Judge Turner directing the commander of the 
fort to investigate the cause, and retain or release the prisoner as 
might appear right. There being no evidence before the board, he 
was released accordingly. Since then Mowry has issued notice to the 
United States District Attorney for New Mexico and to the United 
States Marshal, alleging illegal seizure of his property, and, on the 
12th of December, 1803, filed in the Fourth Judicial l)istrict of Cali- 
fornia a complaint against General Carleton and the oflficers who acted 
under his orders in the seizure. It is inferred, therefore, that the prop- 
erty has passed from the military to the civil authority ; and as to by 
what authority the mine is being worked, or what disposition is made 



64 Arizona and Sonora. * 

The yield of the mines with the present furnaces, when 
all are in operation, is about $4500 per Aveek of silver, 
refined at the mines. The refuse from the refining fur- 
naces, htharge, is sold in Sonora, to be used as a flux at 
such mines as the Bronces, Cruzecitas, Mina Prieta, and 
others containing refractory ores. It is correctly esti- 
mated that the sale of the litharge will pay all the ex- 
penses of the mines. As soon as the property is restored 
by the government to its rightful owner, a number of 
improved blast furnaces will be erected, and the mines 
will be made to pay at once 82000 per day. The supply 
of ore is immense, easily niined and brought to the sur- 
face, daily growing more abundant and richer. I have 
been thus specific in the description of these mines to 
give a clear idea to those who seek investment in mines 
of the great value of the Santa Cruz district of Arizona. 

A new mine, called the " Olive," has been discovered, 
and opened to a considerable depth near the Mowry 
Mines. It is of the same character, and probably the 
same lead as that of the Mowry Mines. It is owned by 
the discoverers, three of my workmen. A controlling 
interest has been or will be purchased by capitalists here, 
and by Captain C. E. Mowry. La Esperanza, five and a 
half miles from the Mowry Mines, almost on the Sonora 
line, has been opened sufiiciently to demonstrate the ex- 
istence of an extensive lead. There are nine veins crop- 
ping out on the surface, which can be tunneled a thou- 
sand feet below the cropping. The ores are argentifer- 
ous galena, very rich in silver and lead. It is in all re- 
spects as valuable a mine as could be desired. It is own- 
ed by a company organized here, of " solid men," and 
will be immediately worked on a large scale. 

of the proceeds, there are no documents on file in the department af- 
fording information. The report was ordered to lie upon the table 
and be printed." 



Condition of Arizona from 1859 to 1864. 65 

The experieucG gained by the works of the Mowry 
Mines will enable the Esperanza and other similar ores 
to be treated at much less expense, and give large divi- 
dends at an early day. It is some consolation to me 
that my mistakes, costly as they have been, will be of in- 
calculable benefit to those who are now investing their 
capital in Arizona. Some one had to be the pioneer, and 
it was perhaps appropriate that it should fall to my lot, 
as I was the first to introduce Arizona as a candidate 
for the honors of a new state. The advantage these 
mines of lead and silver possess over the more refractory 
ores containing copper and sulphurets is the great ease 
of reduction. Fire is the only requisite. They contain 
their own flux. No expensive machinery, quicksilver or 
salt, or other foreign flux, is needed, and the lead will pay 
all the expense of working, reducing, and shipping, giv- 
ing the silver clear in the English or San Francisco mark- 
et, if shipped in the form of lead and silver bars. If re- 
fined at the mines, the litharge [greta in Mexican mining 
phrase) will pay all expenses above stated. The demand 
for litharge is increasing, and there will always be a good 
market for it, on account of the working of new mines 
in Arizona and Sonora. The Pattinson process of sepa- 
rating lead and silver is cheap and economical of both 
metals, but at present will not pay as well as the method 
now in use. 

In connection with this subject, it is proper to say that 
the immense advantage Sonora and Arizona have over 
California or !N"evada for the development of mineral 
w^ealth is the low price of labor — fifty cents to one dollar 
l^er day, paid in great part in merchandise at large prof- 
its. Transportation is also much less. Those interested 
will do well to inqun-e particularly into these points, as 
well as into the character of the mines. Both Arizona 
and Sonora will bear the most searching scrutiny, and 



66 Arizona and Sonora. 

will reward the inquirer. It is as well to say here that 
capital in large sums is needed for the successful prose- 
cution of silver mining. This is a condition precedent 
which must be fully accepted, but with less capital than 
any where else greater results can be obtained in the 
countries in question. 

In Eastern Arizona, near the head waters of the Mim- 
bres River, gold has been discovered in placers and 
quartz. A town called Pino Alto has been built up, and 
at one time over a thousand people worked in the vicini- 
ty. With the withdrawal of the troops this district suf- 
fered, but still many remained. The late establishment 
of a strong military post at this point will assist greatly 
in its development. The copper mines of ancient fame in 
the Mimbres have fully sustained their old rejDutation. 
Smelting works have been erected, new mines opened, 
and the copper in pigs shipped in wagons to Lavaca, 
Texas, thence to New York. The copper sold at higher 
rates than the Lake Superior, and paid a handsome profit 
to the owners, notwithstanding the great distance it was 
transported. These mines, as they have been in the past, 
will continue to be a source of large revenue to the pro- 
prietors. 

The mines in the Organ Mountains, near the Rio 
Grande, are not in operation. The Stevenson, Harris, 
and others are certainly good mines, and will be made 
profitable. In other chapters I give some mining notes, 
written by competent persons from actual observation. 

The presence of two thousand troops in Arizona, whose 
number is soon to be doubled, and the orders lately given, 
will prove the death-warrant of the Apaches. It has 
been already stated that their bravest and most danger- 
ous band has been severely punished, with the loss of 
their principal chief and many men. The subordinate 
officers of the California Column are eager for the fray, 



• Condition of Arizona from 1859^ol864. 67 

and are the men worthy of all praise for endurance and 
the qualities which make good Indian fighters. I antici- 
pate for Arizona a steady and prosperous career. 

The Apaches — these " devils," as they are well called 
by the Mexicans — have grown more daring and ferocious 
in the past few years. Emboldened by the shameful neg- 
lect of the general government, they stopped and robbed 
the mails, killed travelers, and at last attacked ranchos. 
Coming into possession of fire-arms, they grew monthly 
bolder, until at length, in 1861, gaining a doubtful victory 
over about sixty XJ. S. troops, commanded by a young, 
inexperienced lieutenant, they declared and have since) 
maintained open Avar. The Federal Government has been ' 
begged, entreated, prayed, to do something, but it has 
never done it until now. I think I never saw so many 
astonished and angry faces as I did when reading Presi- 
dent Lincoln's last annual message to a crowd in Tucson 
in January last. Yf hen I finished that portion which re- 
fers to the Indian atrocities in Dacotah and Minnesota — 
" What !" said every one, " not one word about Arizona 
or the Apaches ? Why, we have lost ten lives where they 
have lost one — thousands of dollars where they have lost 
hundreds." 

The utter neglect by the government of this Territory 
is a crime which has brought its own jDunishment, but we 
have had it to bear. General Carleton, now commanding 
in Arizona, has a large force at his disposal, and he prom- 
ises to " clean out" the Apaches root and branch. He 
can do it with the means at his disposal. If he does not, 
no punishment is too severe for him. Few commanders 
have so good an opportunity to become public benefac- 
tors. He has begun badly, and wasted much valuable 
time, but he can bravely redeem it.* 

* I am sorry to say that General Carleton has gone from bad to worse. 
The Apaches have not been subdued, but have committed their worst 
outrages under Carleton's weak and cowardly policy. — S. ]M., ISGi. 



68 Ariz07ia and Sonora. 

My own success is amj^le jDroof that the Apaches are 
not a serious obstacle to the working of mines in Arizona. 
The clanger to be ajDprehended is on the roads, and this 
can be avoided by ordinary caution. In fact, almost every 
disaster has been caused by recklessness or utter careless- 
ness in taking precautions dictated by common sense. 

Governor Pesqueira, of Sonora, has oflered a bounty of 
$100 per scalp for Apaches, and a proportionate sum for 
animals retaken from them. This should be imitated by 
the authorities of Arizona. The Pimos and Papago In- 
dians would be most valuable auxiliaries in the pursuit and 
massacre of these " human wolves." They lately killed 
about sixty Apaches and took several prisoners in a single 
campaign. The children of the Apaches, when taken 
young, make good servants, and are sold by the Pimos in 
the Territory and in Sonora. 

There is only one way to wage war against the Apaches. 
A steady, jDersistent campaign must be made, following 
them to their haunts — hunting them to the " fastnesses of 
the mountains." They must be surrounded, starved into 
coming in, surprised or inveigled — by white flags, or any 
other method, human or divine — and then put to death. 
If these ideas shock any weak-minded individual who 
thinks himself a philanthropist, I can only say that I pity 
without respecting his mistaken sympathy. A man might 
as well have sympathy for a rattlesnake or a tiger. 

The foregoing paragraphs, with the exception of a few 
notes, which are dated, appeared in the second edition of 
this work, published in 1863. I append some notices of 
the condition of Arizona subsequent to the date of that 
edition : 

The eastern portion of Arizona, bordering on the Colo- 
rado River and thence to the country north of the Pimos 
villages on the Gila River, has within the past year re- 



Condition of Arizona from 1859 to 1864. 69 

ceived large accessions of population. Gold in quantity- 
is found on the Salinas, the Verde, and other tributaries 
of the Gila ; and the silver and copper mines of the Colo- 
rado region are developing with unparalleled richness. 

In Southern Arizona work has been commenced anew 
on the Heintzelman Mine, with results which promise to 
fulfill all that has been claimed for this noted mine. The 
Santa Rita mines are also again in operation, with abun- 
dant capital. The Mowry Silver Mines have produced 
about their average amount of silver ; and, with the im- 
proved furnaces soon to be erected, will largely increase 
the yield. 

The following is the Report, sent by telegraph, of Gui- 
do Kustel, Metallurgist and Mining Engineer, upon the 
Mowry Silver Mines : 

"San Francisco, April 20, 1864. 

" The lode, which is over fourteen feet wide, runs east 
and west, between limestone and granite-like porphyry. 
It consists of sulphurets and carboilates of lead in man- 
ganese, often pure, containing iron, frequently in large 
chambers. Its great advantage is the presence of iron, 
manganese, lime, and lead, so that the necessary fluxes 
are in the ore in abundance. The greatest depth worked 
is 180 feet. There are four galleries. 

" The present style of furnaces and system of purifica- 
tion are more like waste than rational working. Never- 
theless, these furnaces paid all expenses, with 120 men 
employed. 

" The present expense of working six tons per day is 
fifteen dollars per ton. There are many thousand tons 
of rock out in front of the main shaft, half of which is fit 
for melting after very simple concentration. 

"Wood is abundant. Live oak costs one dollar and 
seventy-five cents a cord. 

" With furnaces four feet square and ten feet high, and 



VO Arizona and JSonora. 

with proper treatment, more silver at less expense could 
be extracted. The best ore produces $350, the poorest 
|50 per ton. But, even reckoning mining and reduction 
at $20 per ton, facts and calculations show that the nett 
profits of one day's work of twenty tons will be $1280." 

The Esperanza Mine has been sufficiently opened to de- 
monstrate its great value, and the San Antonio is at work 
in a moderate way, giving full promise of proving a mine 
of the first class. 

The mining interest of this section suffered a great loss 
in the death of Mr. J. B. Mills and Mr. Edwin Stevens, 
my two most valued assistants, killed by the Aj^aches. 

The imbecile and cowardly policy of the commanding 
general of the department* has caused the diminution of 
our people, and a delay in again settling the valleys and 
opening new mines. 

Great credit is due to Francis Hinton, of Arizona City, 
Henry Grinnell, Richard Halstead, and J. F. Yaeger, for 
their persistent exploration of the Gila and Colorado re- 
gions for the precious metals. They deserve to reap a 
rich reward. 

The Act establishing the Territory of Arizona was ap- 
proved by the President on the 24th of February, 1863. 
Section 1 describes the boundaries as follows : " All that 
portion of the present Territory of New Mexico, situated 
west of a line running due south from the point where 
the southwest corner of the Territory of Colorado joins 
the northern boundary of the Territory of New Mexico, 
to the southern boundary-line of said Territory of New 

* Brigadier General James H. Carleton, United States Volunteers. 
It is understood that Arizona is taken from his command and restored 
to the department of the Pacific, It has been a matter of great sur- 
prise that such a man should so long haA'e been retained. Under the 
new commander it is hoped protection will be given, and this portion 
of Arizona keep pace with the Colorado region. 



Condition of Arizotia from 1859 ^o 1864. 71 

Mexico be, and the same is hereby erected into a tempo- 
rary government by the name of the Territory of Arizo- 
na." This section also provides that Congress may at 
any time divide the Territory or change the boundaries. 
The second section makes provision for the appointment 
of Territorial officers, and extends to Arizona all the laws 
and enactments of the Territory of New Mexico not in- 
consistent with the provisions of this act, until they shall 
be repealed or amended by future legislation. Section 3 
enacts " that there shall neither be slavery nor involun- 
tary servitude in the said Territory otherwise than in 
the punishment of crimes, whereof the parties shall have 
been duly convicted ; and all acts, either of Congress or 
of the Territory of New Mexico, establishing, regulating, 
or in any way recognizing the relation of master and 
slave in said Territory, are hereby repealed." 

The Territory thus organized contains a little more 
than 120,000 square miles, commencing at a point where 
the 109th degree of longitude intersects the 27th degree I "^ 
of north latitude ; thence south on said degree of longi- I 
tude to the boundary-line between the United States and I 
old Mexico ; thence west on the said boundary-line to the 
boundary-line of southeastern California ; thence north on 
said boundary-line to the 37th degree of north latitude; 
thence east on said parallel of north latitude to the place 
of beginning. 

The white population of the Territory is roughly esti- 
mated at 20,000, but the number is rapidly increasing. 
The number of Indians is estimated at from 45,000 to 
68,000. About half of these may be set down as friend- 
ly to the whites, the other half hostile. 

The capital has been located, at least temporarily, at 
Fort Whipple. 

The following are the officers of the Territory: Govern- 
or^ John IST. Goodwin, of Maine ; Secretary^ Richakd C. 



12 Arizo7ia and jSonora. 

M'CoEMiCK, of New York ; Chief Justices^ William T. 
Howell, of Michigan, and Joseph P. Allyn, of Connec- 
ticut ; District Attorney^ Almon Gage, of New York ; 
Surveyor General^ Levi Bashfoed, of Wisconsin ; 3£ar- 
s7ia^, Milton B. DuFFiELD, of California; Superintendent 
of Indian Affairs^ Charles D. Poston, of Kentucky. 



J^\ Bkrtu on the Mines of Arizona. 73 



CHAPTER III. 

THE MINES OF ARIZONA. REPORT OF F. BIERTU, METALLURGIST 
* AND MINING ENGINEER, WRITTEN IN FEBRUARY, 1S61. 

The Mowry (formerly called the Patagonia) Silver Mines. — The Lodes 
and Ores. — Shafts and Tunnels. — Owners. — Management. — Eagle 
Mines. — Empire or Montezuma Mine. — Santa Rita Mining Com- 
pany. — Mariposa Mining Company. — Sonora Exploring and Mining 
Company. — Cahuabi Mining Company. — Arizona Copper Mining 
Company. — Sopori Laud and Mining Company. — Arizona Land 
and Mining Company. — Colorado River Copper Mines. — Stevenson 
Mining Company. — Harris Mine. — St. Augustin Mining Company. 
— Coal Mines. — Auriferous Quartz. 

PATAGONIA, NOW ISIOWEY SILVER MINES. 

My visit to the Patagonia Mine, now called Mowry 
Silver Mines, Las lasted four days — the time necessary to 
give it a full examination in all its parts, and to make a 
careful assay of its ores. But why was it called the Pat- 
agonia Mine ? Is it because it is situated in a desert in- 
habited only by Indians ? Such were the questions I put 
to myself while traveling, and which I thought might be 
answered affirmatively. Great was my surprise, howev- 
er, when, instead of finding, as I expected, barren mount- 
ains as at Washoe and Mono, I gazed on beautiful land- 
scapes and a country covered with trees of different kinds, 
with fertile lands perfectly watered. True it is that the 
nearest neighbors, the Apaches, are far from being even 
equal to the Patagonians ; but this, it seemed to me, 
could not be a reason for giving to such a beautiful spot, 
which in spring must be covered with flowers, so sav- 
age a name. Mr. Mowry was perfectly right to alter it. 

This property, containing about five hundred acres of 
D 



74 Arizona and Sonora. 

land, is situated ten miles from parallel 32° 20' north lati- 
tude, which forms the limit between Arizona and JMexi- 
co, twenty miles from Fort Buchanan, fourteen from the 
town of Santa Cruz, in Sonora, and at an elevation of 
6160 feet from the level of the sea; and a good road, 
280 miles in length, and which, with a little repair, might 
be made excellent, places it in direct communication with 
Guaymas. By this route, freight from San Francisco to 
the mine does not go beyond five cents* per pound. The 
mine is situated on the last hills forming the eastern slope 
of the Sierra de Santa Cruz, and is bounded on the north- 
east by extensive plains covered by the mesquit and oak 
trees, which reach the line of Sonora, whose elevated 
mountains rise in the horizon. Between these plains and 
the mine is to be seen the Sierra Espuela, called also Wa- 
chuka Mountains. 

The road leading to the mine from Fort Buchanan 
crosses a range of hills and mountains completely cover- 
ed with oak, pine, sycamore, poplar, willow, and hazlenut. 
The land and the hills around the mine are covered with 
green oak, cedar, pine, and manzanitas. The whole coun- 
try abounds with rabbits, quails, and wild turkeys. It is 
not a rare occurrence to meet droves of deer and ante- 
lopes numbering from twenty-five to thirty. The ama- 
teur of more intense excitement may also indulge in bear 
and Apache hunting. 

About a mile from the mine, and near a little village 
called Commission, of some fifteen houses, intended for 
the peons and laborers of the mines, there is a creek, call- 
ed Commission Creek, which is on the property itself, 
whose waters never dry up, and which are more than 
sufficient to run one or several mills. The buildings for 
residences, and those for stores and furnaces, are halfway 

* Since reduced to less than four cents. Return freight from the 
mines is about two cents. 



F. Biertu on the Mines of Arizona. 15 

between the mine and the small village. Near by there 
is a spring of excellent water, which also never dries up. 
There are other springs lost in the hills, and which may 
easily be tm-ned to some purposes. 

The Lodes and Ores. — The principal lode of the Pata- 
gonia Mine is composed principally of argentiferous ga- 
lena, and runs south 85° E. Its thickness, which increases 
as it dips in the earth — now eighty-three feet in depth — is 
of about three feet.* Three small veins, excessively rich, 
cross each other in the main vein, all running in different 
directions. The size of these small veins varies from ten 
to nineteen inches. Other veins, whose outcroppings are 
visible on the top of the hill, and which run in a parallel 
direction at a great distance, will, according to all prob- 
abilities, be met with as the working of the mine proceeds. 
jSTo prospects have as yet been undertaken to ascertain 
the nature of these veins. The galena of the principal 
vein contains a small quantity of copper and arsenic. It 
seemed to me that I detected appearances of zinc, but I 
had no means to ascertain the fact. An assay of the dif- 
ferent ores has given results varying from $80 to $706 in 
silver per ton, and up to sixty-two per cent, of lead. 
Their reduction is of the utmost facility. 

The Shafts and Tunnels. — XJnfortunately,f all the oper- 
ations perfected up to this day are, I might say, useless. 
The labor expended on shafts and tunnels has been con- 
ducted so carelessly — the different stratas of earth have 
been subjected to so little investigation, that while, on 
one hand, unnecessary expenses and labor have been in- 
curred, on the other, a quantity of ore, sufficient probably 

* Much increased in width and richness at the great depth of over 
two hundred feet. The vein often spreads out into chambers of pure 
ore of great size, no gangue appearing between the side walls. Two 
peons have taken out ten tons of rich ore in one day's work. 

t All this has since been corrected, and the mine worked under the 
able direction of a skillful mining engineer, Mr. George Habermann. 



76 Arizona and Sonora. 

to pay for the whole expenses of the establishment, has 
been thrown aside as worthless. Ores which I have 
picked up on the creek, being assayed, have given the 
best results that I have obtained. 

But the actual owners of the mines are not the ones 
who ought to comj^lain of the bad direction of the works, 
for, according to my idea, it is principally this bad man- 
agement which has enabled them to purchase the whole 
mine at a comparatively low price. However, it will be 
easy to remedy the evil, either by beginning new works 
in a more suitable locality, or by modifying those already 
existing. The quality of the mine is such as to cover, in 
a short space of time, all the expenses which may be in- 
curred in a rational manner. 

The discovery of the Patagonia Mine dates only from 
the fall of 1858, but it would aj^pear that its existence was 
suspected long ago, for the first parcels of ore gathered 
by the Mexicans were taken, at the time of the late dis- 
covery, from shafts which had been sunk many years ago, 
and which had been abandoned. 

The Oimiers. — The first owners were Colonel J. W. 
Douglass, Captain R. S. Ewell, Lieutenants J. N. Moore, 
Mr. Randal, Mr. Lord, and Mr. Doss — all belonging to 
the United States Army excepting the last named indi- 
vidual and Colonel Douglass. These parties started some 
preliminary works — sunk shafts, extracted a certain quan- 
tity of ore, and built up several furnaces for smelting. 
But, being short of capital for a regular system of reduc- 
tion on a large scale, two of the principal shareholders, 
Messrs. Lord and Doss, who had charge of the whole 
mine, sold their interest during the year 18B3-9 to Mr. 
E. Brevoort, who thereupon became superintendent of the 
mine and principal owner. 

The administration of Mr. Brevoort was not a happy 
one. The mine, which, as I have before stated, had been 



F. Biertu on the Mines of Arizona. 77 

badly opened and badly worked, being turned into inex- 
perienced hands, fared much worse. A certain quantity of 
ore was extracted, but, whether the proceeds were expend- 
ed in nseless operations, or for any other purposes, they 
were not sufficient to cover the costs incurred. These 
failures gave rise to disagreements between the owners, 
which could not be settled except by the sale of their 
whole interest, which Captain Ewell and his partners 
made to Mr. Brevoort this last-named gentleman turning 
the interest immediately over to Mr. H. T. Titus. But 
these negotiations did not put a stop to the difficulties, 
which were renewed on account of the payment of the 
purchase-money. Consequently, the sale of the whole 
was resolved upon, and the conveyance took place in the 
spring of 1860, in favor of Lieutenant Mowry, all the in- 
terested parties joining in the deed. The price of the 
mine, including the lands surrounding it, all the works 
and establishment standing at the time, fixed at 125,000, 
was paid in cash by the new owner, who some time after 
sold one fifth to a wealthy capitalist in the East. Hence 
four fifths of the Patagonia Mine are now held by Mr. 
Mowry, who has given his name to it. In the hands of 
the last-named gentleman, and under the direction of Mr. 
Charles Mowry, his brother, the w^orks will be started 
with unusual activity. Already preparations have been 
made to carry on works of a considerable extent, so that 
next summer the mine will be in full operation. 

The Managemeyit of the Mine. — The old furnaces hav- 
ing been badly constructed, and being out of use, they 
will be replaced by others containing all the later improve- 
ments, either for smelting or refining. A steam-engine of 
fifteen to twenty horse power w^ll be put up for the trit- 
uration of the ores, for the working of the pumps, and to 
run a saw-mill. The waters of the creek will be gathered 
in large reservoirs, twelve feet in depth, constructed by 



78 Arizo7ia and Sonora, 

means of thick embankments. Buildings will be put up 
for the accommodation of the superintendent of the mine 
and the reducing establishment, and for the engineer and 
other employes. A laboratory for assays will also be an- 
nexed to the works. The ores w^ill be carried from the 
mine to the reducing establishment by a railroad, for the 
building of which 3ir. R. Jones, Jr., has already taken 
the preliminary steps. Finally, for the accommodation 
of laborers, numbering from seventy to eighty, and of the 
inhabitants on the frontiers of Sonora, a large store will 
be opened for the sale of all sorts of provisions and mer- 
chandise. The expenses to be incurred this year to put 
in operation the different projects in view will exceed the 
sum of $60,000. 

Such is the history of the mine, which I intended to re- 
late to you with details, because within a short space of 
time it is called upon to rank among mines of the first 
class. Even now, in the neighborhood, by the abundance 
and richness of its ores, the facilities for extraction and 
reduction, and the conveniences of the locaUty, it is con- 
sidered one of the best in Arizona. Its importance would 
be greatly increased if a project in which rich capitalists 
of the East are actively engaged is put in execution, which 
is to build a railroad betw^een Guaymas and El Paso, in 
Texas, which would connect with the Pacific Railroad. 
This road, follow^ing the ridge of the Sierra de Santa Cruz, 
would run at a distance of only ten miles from Mr. Mow- 
ry's mine. 

The mine which I have just described is not the only 
one to be found in that part of Arizona. The Santa Cruz 
Sierra, already renowned since the days of the Jesuits, 
who had opened in that locality the Compadre and French 
Mines, has lately given evidences of new richness. Be- 
sides the two which I have just named, the Boundary, 
Empire, Eagle, and St. Louis Mining Companies form a 
part of the Sierra. 



F. Biertu on the 3Iines of Arizona. 79 

OTHER MINES. 

The Eagle Mine. — This mine is situated to the east of 
the Mowiy Mine, and its vein, composed of argentiferous 
galena, exactly similar to the Mowry Mine, is, it is stated, 
its continuation. 

The San Pedro Mine. — This mine is situated on the 
east side of the San Pedro River, about twenty-five miles 
from the Overland Mail road, and half a mile from the 
river. 

Eminre or Montezuma 3£me. — I have mentioned above 
this mine as forming a part of the Santa Cruz Sierra. It 
is half way between the Mowry Mine and the town of 
Santa Cruz. The ores are composed of lead and silver. 
The first owners were Th. Gardner and Hoj^kins, who, it 
seems, sold their interest out to ^ew York companies. 

Santa Rita Mining Company. — The Sierra de la San- 
ta Rita, as that of the Santa Cruz, incloses rich deposits 
of precious ores. The Cazada, Florida, and Salero Mines 
are united in one company, under the above title. The 
last one was known a long while ago, and was worked 
by the Jesuits. In that one, also, the argentiferous gale- 
na dominates. Shortly furnaces will be put up for smelt- 
ing and reducing ; they will be erected on the very 
mountains of Santa Rita, which are to the east of Tubac, 
at the distance of about ten miles. The superintendent 
of the mine is Mr. H. C. Grosvenor, and Mr. Pompelly is 
the engineer. The capital is $1,000,000. These mines 
were opened in 1856. 

Mariposa Mining Company. — This company is work- 
ing a copper mine, situated forty miles from Fort Breck- 
enridge, at the junction of the San Pedro and Arrivaypa 
Rivers, and from three to four miles south of the Gila. 
The road known as the Leach "Wagon Road, near by, 
renders the transportation of the ores and provisions 



80 Arizona and JSonora. 

quite easy. It is under the direction of Mr. A. B. Gray, 
ex-surveyor of the United States, attachedto the commis- 
sion of the Mexican frontiers, an.d engineer-in-chief of the 
Pacific Railroad. Mr. Hopkins is the engineer of the 
mines ; the house of Soulter, of New York, is the princi- 
pal owner. 

jSonora Mq)Iori7i(/ and Mining Company. — This mine, 
situated at about thirty miles from Tubac, in the Cerro 
Colorado, is one of the jDrincipal mines, if not the richest 
in the Territory. The company is working the vein 
known as the Heintzelman Mine, rich in argentiferous 
coppers, and also several other veins on the Rancho Ari- 
vaco. The actual and imperfect system of reduction is* 
by means of amalgamating barrels. Steam-engines of 
forty horse power, with a new process of amalgamation 
and refining, will soon be introduced. One of the princi- 
pal shareholders, Mr. Charles D. Poston, is the director, 
and at the same time lessee of the mine for the term of 
ten years. This company was incorporated in Cincinna- 
ti, Ohio, with a capital of $2,000,000, divided into 20,000 
shares. The sum already expended for the working of 
this mine is estimated at $230,000 either in ready cash or 
from the proceeds of the mine. 

Cahiiahi Mining Company. — The mine going by that 
name is near meridian 112 and 32 north latitude, in a re- 
gion inhabited by the Papagos Indians. The argentifer- 
ous copper ores are treated according to the Mexican 
amalgamatory process known as the jDatio. I have seen 
specimens from this mine «in the hands of Mr. Herman 
Ehrenberg, president of the company, of extreme rich- 
ness. The mine was opened since 1859. 

Arizona Copper Mining Company. — The bad adminis- 
tration and the difficulties of transportation have been 
the main causes why this mine, so rich, and which created 
so much excitement in California two or three years ago. 



F, Biertu on the Mines of Arizo7ia. 81. 

has not given any good results. Its oxides and copper 
sulphurets are excessively rich, the extraction exceeding- 
ly easy, and the veins are numerous. Works at this 
present moment are suspended. This mine is situated 
120 miles southeast from Fort Yuma. It was opened in 
1855, and the company was incorporated in San Fran- 
cisco. 

&opori Land and Mining Company. — The mine of So- 
pori, opened many years ago, had in Mexico an extensive 
reputation. The ores extracted were exceedingly rich 
in gold and silver, but the works were so badly carried 
on that the vein is lost, and not even any exterior traces 
of its position is left. A few arastras in bad condition 
are all that is left of the operations there. The mine 
forms a part of the Sopori Rancho, of an area of 21,000 
acres, situated west of the Mai Pais Sierra, and south of 
the Canao Rancho, which are both considered as the best 
ranches of Arizona. The Sopori Company is incorpo- 
rated in Providence, R. I., with a capital of $1,000,000. 
Governor Jackson is the president ; Lieutenant Mowry, 
one of the principal shareholders, is, at the same time, 
one of the trustees. 

Arizona Land and Mining Company. — This mine is 
situated north of the Rancho of Sopori. This company 
owns a large tract of land, of thirty-two leagues square, 
on which is situated the old silver mine of San Xavier, 
which Avas worked during the time of the Jesuits, and 
which appears exceedingly rich ; other veins, equally rich, 
are to be found in the centre .of the proj^erty, on the Si- 
erra Tinaja. The company was incorporated in Provi- 
dence, R. I., with a capital of $2,000,000. The Honora- 
ble S. G. Arnold is the president. The treasurer is Mr. 
Alfred Anthony, President of the Jackson Bank of Prov- 
idence. Colonel Colt, Lieutenant Mowry, and other rich 
capitalists of the East, are the actual owners. Mr. Mow- 

D2 



82 Arizona and Sonora. 

ry is the holder of more, than one half of the stock of the 
company. N. Richmond Jones, Jr., is the engineer -in- 
chief of this mine, as also of the Sopori Mine. 

Colorado Eiver Copper Mine. — About three years ago 
a Mr. Halstead, well known on the Colorado districts as 
an indefatigable prospector, discovered this mine on the 
shores of the river, at about forty miles from Fort Yuma. 
Having been examined and tested by experts from New 
York, they found it to be very extensive and very rich. 
Several tons sent to San Francisco last year were also ad- 
mitted to be of uncommon richness. Consequently, la- 
borers were engaged in Sonora, and preparations made to 
work the mine on an extensive scale. Difficulties, how- 
ever, eventually arose which prevented the completion of 
the works. The mine is owned by Messrs. Wilcox, John- 
son, and Hartshorn, owners of the steamer navigating the 
Colorado, by Mr. Hooper, principal merchant at Fort 
Yuma, and by Lieutenant Mowry. 

Stevenson Mining Company. — This mine has been 
worked during several years by Mr. Stevenson, according 
to the Mexican process, and yielded him from 840,000 to 
$50,000. Afterward Mr. Stevenson sold his mine to Ma- 
jor Sprague, of the U. S. Army, who organized a company 
in New York, to which belong General Clarke, Doctor 
Mills, Mr. Russell, of the Pony Express and Missouri bonds 
notoriety, and several other persons. The mine appears 
to be very rich in silver and lead, but it has been wretch- 
edly administered. The Stevenson Mine is situated on 
the Rio Grande, not far frqm Mesilla. 

Harris Mhie. — The mine belonging to this company 
was discovered several years ago. It was recently pur- 
chased by Lieutenant Mowry of Judge Hoppin, Mr. CunifF, 
and Mr. Bull. This mine is also on the Rio Grande, six 
miles from the Stevenson Mine. The ore is composed of 
lead and silver. 



F. JBiertu on the Mines of Arizona, 83 

St. Augustin Mining Company. — This mine is also 
situated on the Kio Grande, and the ores are like the 
above. 

Several other silver veins, supposed to be very rich, 
have been discovered on the same river, but have not yet 
been worked. All these mines of the Rio Grande are to 
be found in the hills at the foot of the Organ Mountains. 
Besides silver, copper, and lead mines, coal mines are also 
to be found near the Rio Grande in the Organ Mountains, 
in Arizona Territory. There are also mines of plumbago 
in the Sierra Rita, and some of iron in different localities. 

Traces of quicksilver have been found in the Heintzel- 
man Mine, belonging to the Sonora Company, but they 
own particularly rich gold placers and veins of auriferous 
quartz. The new district of Pino Alto, whose placer dig- 
gings were discovered in May last, and which have yield- 
ed fine results in gold of a fine quality, is also rich in 
quartz veins. 

One of the main ones is the one known by the name of 
Jackson Quartz Vein, owned by G. A. Oury, of Tucson, 
P. T. Herbert, and others. The vein was discovered in 
July, 1860, by J. J. Jackson, on Bear Creek, about thirty 
miles from the Overland Mail station, on the Mimbres Riv- 
er, and twenty-five miles from the Gila River. The vein 
is two feet in thickness, and promises to become exces- 
sively rich. Specimens taken from a depth of ten feet, 
and which were handed to me by Mr. Oury, have yielded 
more than |600 of pure gold to the ton. The persons 
who have visited the Pino Alto District speak of it as a 
section of country exceedingly healthy, well wooded, but 
quite barren in the summer months. A population of 800 
to 1000 souls inhabit already the district and the town 
bearing its name. An express, connecting with that of 
"Wells, Fargo & Co., runs between that town and Mesilla. 

Another mine of auriferous quartz, which is stated to 



84 Ai'izona and Soiiora. 

be quite rich, was lately discovered ninety miles from 
Fort Yuma, on the Colorado. The owners are Messrs. 
Halstead and Yaeger, residents of Fort Yuma. • 

On the Mimbres River, ninety miles from the Rio 
Grande, are to be found the renowned mines of Santa 
Rita del Cobre, worked by Mexicans many years ago, 
and well known for their richness. These mines and the 
Hanover CojDper Mines, situated in the same locality, 
were profitably worked a long time ago. The coj^per, 
worked into bars, is sent to ISTew York by way of Port 
Lavaca, in Texas. Two new towns, Mowry City and 
Burchville, are also built on the Mimbres River. 

Auriferous deposits of some importance are also to be 
found on the shores of the Gila, not only at its source, 
but all along its course. When we passed by Gila City 
three weeks ago, nothing was spoken of but the discov- 
ery of rich deposits of gold on the river. It was stated 
that Mexicans were gathering from ten to fifteen dollars 
per day. Besides, at the junction of the Gila and the 
Colorado, about 300 Mexicans are constantly at work, 
and obtain excellent pay. The greater part of this gold 
is forwarded by Mr. Hooper, of Fort Yuma. 

The particulars I have just given you, although already 
quite lengthy, are far from containing all that might be 
stated in regard to the mineral wealth of that Territory ; 
but I must stop here, as I only intend to give you state- 
ments entirely correct. 

[To the foregoing I add, that the reports of the emi- 
nent metallurgist, Guido Kiistel, who has lately visited 
Southern Arizona on a scientific tour, show conclusively 
that it is one of the richest silver regions in the known 
world. His examination of different mines was thor- 
ough, and his opinions are founded upon facts. No one 
is more capable of giving sound oi^inions upon mines and 
mining. — S. M., 1804.] 



The Colorado Biver Mmes in 1 864. 85 



CHAPTER IV. 

THE COLORADO RIVER MINES IN 1S64. 
Mining on the Colorado.— The Eiver and its Navigation.— The differ- 
ent Mining Districts on the Colorado. — Freight and Passage.— 
Quality of the Ores.— Mode of Working.— Furnaces and Fuel. 

The following extracts from the Alta California, pub- 
lished during the month of April, 1864, present a sum- 
mary of the condition and prospects of the mining region 
of the Colorado. It says : 

In consequence of movements in San Francisco to se- 
cure the full and cheap navigation of the Colorado Riv- 
er, mining operations throughout that section are being 
pushed with energy. Many tunnels and inclines are be- 
ing run, and shafts sunk. Assays of different ores indi- 
cate values per ton of $85, $1 10, IVO, and $30. One mill 
is already at work, crushing chiefly gold ores, and arrange- 
ments are in progress for the erection of a first-class mill, 
with the necessary machinery for working silver ores, 
near the mouth of the river. Large piles of rich ore have 
been taken out of the various tunnels and shafts, of which 
there are nine mentioned in the report before us. Ex- 
tensive discoveries of salt, free from impurities, have been 
made. It is found in veins similar to the mineral veins, 
underlying at an angle of 45 degrees, and varying in 
Avidth from eighteen inches to three feet. Discoveries 
of coal are also reported. Several mining districts are 
organized — the San Francisco, Williams's Fork, La Paz, 
etc. The mines on the extreme lower river are chiefly 
valuable for copper ; farther up, silver and gold predom- 



86 Arizo7ia and 8onora. 

iuate. The San Francisco Mining Fress^ from the col- 
umns of which we condense the above, closes its article 
thus: 

"The river, which is now attracting a large share of 
attention, is destined to become one of the most import- 
ant rivers on the Pacific coast. Its topography and gen- 
eral characteristics are certainly most remarkable. Tak- 
ing its rise, as we have already said, in the Pike's Peak 
mining region, it constitutes simply a mountain stream 
until it reaches the vicinity of Black Caiion, about eighty 
miles above El Dorado Canon. From this point to its 
mouth, a distance of a little over 600 miles, this river is 
navigable for river steamers of a small draught ; and for 
500 miles of this distance the entire country is rich in 
minerals — gold, silver, and copper — down to its very 
banks, and to an unknown and unexplored distance .into 
the interior. All kinds of miners' supplies will soon be 
delivered along this river, via the Gulf of California, for 
a price not greater than that now charged for the deliv- 
ery of goods at Nevada City or Placerville. Freight has 
already been delivered at La Paz for three cents per 
pound." 

The Alta California then furnishes the following de- 
tailed description of the mining districts upon the Colo- 
rado, and the modes of working in use there : 

The mining districts on the banks of the Lower Colo- 
rado continue to preserve their attractions for a consid- 
erable number of miners who have been in them for sev- 
eral years. They have as yet produced little bullion, but 
they promise to increase in importance, and to furnish no 
small portion of the gold, silver, and copper crop of this 
coast. 

The Colorado Piver empties into the Gulf of Califor- 



The Colorado Rwer Mines ^?l 1864. 87 

nia in latitude 31° 40/ and for ninety-five miles above 
that point the river runs through a low plain. At Fort 
Yuma, as we ascend the river, the mineral region com- 
mences. The various districts are as follows : 

I. Yuma or Pichaco District^ on the western side of 
the river, near Fort Yuma. There may be 100 miners, 
mostly Mexicans, engaged in dry washing for placer gold. 
There are some rich lodes of silver and copper, and a few 
veins of auriferous quartz. 

II. Castle Dome District^ on the eastern side of the 
Colorado, between that stream and the Gila. There may 
be 100 miners here engaged in silver mining. The ores 
are rich, but they are from eighteen to thirty-five miles 
from the river. Some furnaces are now building for 
smelting the ores. The chief town is Castle Dome City, 
which has four or five houses, and is thirty miles above 
Fort Yuma, by the river. 

III. Eureka District^ on the eastern side of the Colora- 
do, twenty-five miles, by land, above Fort Yuma, is twen- 
ty-eight miles long on the river bank, and twelve miles 
wide. There are 100 miners there, of whom a majority 
are Mexicans. The mines are silver, lead, and copper, 
and very near the river. The country or bed rock is 
granite and slate ; the silver veins are in pink and white 
quartz ; the lodes are from two to ten feet thick. The 
chief town is Williamsport, which contains one stone 
house and many tents, and is forty-five miles, by the riv- 
er, above Fort Yuma. 

lY. Weaver District^ on the eastern side of the river, 
ninety miles above Fort Yuma. The mines are copper, 
silver, and gold. The principal town is Olive City, which 
has twenty houses, and is 150 miles, by the river, above 
Fort Yuma. The ledges which are now being worked 
are situated at from six to fifteen miles of the steam-boat 
landing at Olive City. Among these are the Great Cen- 



88 Arizona and Sonora. 

tral, Colorado, Blue Ledge, American Pioneer, Weaver, 
Henry Barnard, and others. 

V. JLa Paz District, on the eastern bank of the Colo- 
rado, 100 miles above Fort Yuma. It contains 500 min- 
ers, who are engaged in silver, copper, and lead veins, and 
in gold placers. There are some Mexican smelting fur- 
naces at La Paz, the chief town of the district, and ore is 
regularly shipped to San Francisco. La Paz City has 
150 houses, and is 155 miles, by the river, from Fort 
Yuma. 

VI. Chemahueva District, on the western side of the 
river, opposite La Paz. 

VII. El Dorado Canon District, on the western side 
of the river, 250 miles, by land, above Fort Yuma, con- 
tains a population of about 300 miners, and has some rich 
silver and copper lodes. 

There are several other districts along the river, but 
some of them are almost unknown save to a few pros- 
pectors, who are wandering about in them. The Walk- 
er Placer Mines, on the foot-hills of the San Francisco 
Mountains, are 150 miles east of La Paz. The diggings 
are good there, but the Indians are troublesome. Per- 
sons bound for those mines, from California, usually go 
through La Paz. 

Freight for the Colorado mines, from San Francisco, 
goes by sailing vessels, in a voyage of three or four weeks 
ordinarily, to the mouth of the Colorado, at a cost of $20 
per ton. There are four steam-boats on the Colorado 
River; and they charge $25 per ton to Williamsport, 
and $75 to La Paz, from the mouth. The stream is about 
350 yards wide, and the channel averages five feet deep, 
but it has a swift current, and a bed of quicksand, which 
is constantly shifting. In the dry season, the steamers 
have much difficulty above Williamsport in ascending 
the rapid stream, in which no experience can enable a 



The Colorado River Mines «m 1864. 89 

pilot to know where the channel Avill be to-morrow, how- 
ever familiar he may be with it to-day. The steamers 
take six clays in low water in going from the mouth up 
to La Paz. It is thought the price of freight will fall, in 
consequence of competition and opposition. Flour at La 
Paz is worth |9 per 100 pounds. 

There is not a good silver mill in the whok Colorado 
county, and not one mine is opened so that a large amount 
of ore could be supplied at a short time, but the vein 
stone is known to be good. The Apache Chief and the 
Providencia Mines, in the La Paz District, and the Carmel, 
in the Eureka District, among others, have shipped ores 
to this city. The Arizona Company, in the Eureka Dis- 
trict, has sent down sacks to hold 500 tons of their ore, 
rich argentiferous galena, which is to be shipped. The 
Margarita, River, Norma, Enterprise, Rockford, Gray Ea- 
gle, Cache Knob, Cocomongo, and Rosario, of the same 
district, have smelted rich ores in Mexican furnaces. The 
ores of the two last-named, mines yielded seventy ounces 
of silver to the ton. 

The silver ores of the Colorado Valley, or nearly all of 
them, contain large quantities of either copper or lead, 
both of them unfitted for amalgamation. No attempt has 
yet been made to reduce the cupriferous ores ; those are 
either neglected or shipped to Europe. The chief atten- 
tion of the miners is turned, therefore, to the argentiferous 
galena. That found in the Cache Knob and Arizona 
Mines contains sixty per cent, of lead and sixty to 100 
ounces of silver to the ton. This and similar ores are 
reduced by smelting, which is managed by Mexicans in 
the rudest manner. 

The rock is crushed, not with stamps or arastras, but 
between two flat stones, the upper one being worked by 
hand. Some of the workmen stop when there are no 
pieces of ore larger than a hazel-nut, and others will not 



90 Arizona and jSonora. 

have a piece larger than a "pea ; very few msist on reduc- 
ing the ore to a fine flour, as is done in good silver mills. 
The finer the ore, the quicker the smelting, and the more 
thorough the separation of the metal. 

The furnace is built of stone and adobes, ten feet long, 
four feet wide, and eight feet high. The inside is lined 
with clay mixed with bone-dust, this being the best ma- 
terial to be had there for resisting the action of the fire. 
The bellows is worked by hand. It is made of canvas, 
and has two horizontal chambers, each about as wide and 
half as long as a barrel. These two chambers or bellows 
are put on a level with a man's breast ; and the workman 
pulls out the board end of one bellows, while he pushes in 
the board end of the other. Each chamber has its own 
pipe, but the two unite, and thus, by the alternate move- 
ments of the arms, a constant stream of air is kept up. 

The fuel used in smelting is charcoal, made of mes- 
quit, which gives a fire of intense heat. Twenty-five or 
thirty pounds of ore are put in at intervals of ten or fif- 
teen minutes, and at the end of an hour and a half or 
two hours they tap the furnace, let out the metal, clean 
out the slag, and commence anew. The metal which has 
run out, called a^^lcmcha, weighs from 125 to 150 pounds, 
and contains only about one half of one per cent, of silver 
to ninety-five per cent, of lead, with a few other base sub- 
stances. 

After all the ore on hand is smelted, refining com- 
mences. Two or three planchas are put into the furnace 
and melted, and kept at a high heat. The lead turns to 
litharge, which is raked off*, and, as the molten metal de- 
creases in quantity, more planchas are added, until the 
lead has all been converted into litharge, and the silver 
remains pure enough to be sent to the market. The lith- 
arge is worth seven cents per pound, and brings nearly 
as much as the silver. 



The Colorado River Miyies in 1864. 91 

There arc numerous furnaces of this kind in the Colo- 
rado region, nearly all of them worked by Mexicans. 
It is i3lain that, if ore will pay for such working, there 
nnist be silver in it. The Mexicans offer to pulverize, 
smelt, and refine for $40 per ton. Some Frenchmen at 
Olive City have a better class furnace, and rumor says 
they are doing well. The Americans are anxious to get 
stamps and good furnaces. The Recorder of the Eureka 
District, Mr. Spann, is now in this city for the purpose 
of getting fire-brick for furnaces, for the clay and bone- 
dust will not last long in a heat hot enough to smelt sil- 
ver. 

The Colorado valley may not be equal to Paradise for 
a home, but it is rich in silver, and silver mines are not 
generally found in the most fertile valleys and the most 
genial climes. There are probably no silver mines in the 
Avorld so near the level of the sea as those at Eureka. 



92 Arizona and Sonora. 



CHAPTER V. 

SONORA FROM 1S59 TO 1S64. 

Improvements since 1859. —The Southern Pacific Raih'oad. — The 
Overland Mail — Guaymas. — Labor in Sonora. — Great Mining Ha- 
ciendas. — The Mining Districts, Alamos, San Xavier, Las Bronces, 
Los Cedros. — Price of Labor. — The Jecker Contract for the Survey 
of Sonora. — Captain Stone's Scientific Commission. — Its Failure. — 
What it accomplished. — Extracts from Captain Stone's Letters. — 
What the Contract granted. — Present Condition of Sonora. 

The prospects of Sonora Lave much improved since 
1859. The constitutional power of the state has been 
boldly asserted, and maintained with courage and ability 
by Governor Pesqueira ; the disturbances caused by the 
Yaqui Indians suppressed with a firm hand, revolutions 
nipped in the bud, and profound peace maintained for a 
long time past. A new port. La Libertad, on the Gulf 
of California, above Guaymas, has been opened, giving an 
immediate outlet to the valuable district of Altar and 
northeastern Sonora, and to Arizona. A liberal grant 
has been made by the Legislature of Sonora to an East- 
ern company, ably represented by General Angel Trias, 
for the right of way of a railroad from Guaymas to El 
Paso, to connect with the Southern Pacific Railroad. 

This road, which would now have been in an advanced 
state had it not been for the civil Avar in the United 
States, must some day be built. The extension of the 
Opelousas Railroad from New Orleans, with the Mem- 
phis branch to San Antonio, Texas, and El Paso, then to 
Guaymas, will surely be built before any other road, 
when wise counsel shall take the place of the madness 
of the hour, and peace again shed her benignant smile 



iSonorafrom 1859 to 1864. 93 

over our unhappy country. European capital, with the 
valuable grants in aid of constructing the roacl, was se- 
cured to a suflScient amount to insure its rapid comple- 
tion. The calculations on which this foreign aid was 
procured remain valid, and the development of Sonora 
and Arizona will increase their value. The great valley 
of the Mississippi will be placed in easy communication 
with the Pacific — a communication most devoutly to be 
wished. An immense item — never yet noted, I believe, 
in the trade of such a road — will be the freight of un- 
numbered tons of ores, not sufficiently rich to bear the- 
j^resent costly transportation. As -a friend, who is more 
poetical than pious, remarked to me, " God never intend- 
ed these ores, worth ten or twenty dollars a ton, to re- 
main useless forever." I see no reason to change, in any 
degree, my opinion of the great superiority of the south- 
ern route along the 32d parallel for the Overland Mail 
and Pacific Railroad. 

A temporary and partial success during the very mild 
winter of 1862 and '63, of the Northern Overland Mail, 
is no decided proof in its favor. " One swallow does not 
make summer." The advantage of climate — and vastly 
less cost — is indisputably with the southern route. I 
have therefore reproduced, in a subsequent chapter, an 
extract from the speech of Senator Davis, and my own 
brief remarks. I stand by them, and am willing to risk 
what little of reputation I may have on their accuracy. 

A considerable amount of Eastern capital has been in- 
vested in city lots in Guaymas, and landed property near- 
this magnificent port. The founderies of this city (San 
Francisco) are turning out engines, mills, and costly ma- 
chinery for the several mines owned in part here. The 
steam-ship line established between San Francisco and 
Guaymas is not only a permanent institution, but the com- 
munication will soon be greatly facilitated by the addi- 



94 Arizona and Sonora. 

tion of another steamer to the route. The last steamer 
went full to her guards with freight and passengers, and 
this is but the beginning. I am drawing no fancy j^ic- 
ture. The reader can inquire for himself. I rej^eat, with 
a sincere conviction of their truth, the words of Ward in 
his able work on Mexico : " I am aware that many of the 
statements in this and the preceding books, respecting 
the mineral riches of the north of N'ew Spain (Sonora, 
Arizona, Chihuahua, and Durango), will be thought ex- 
aggerated. They are not so. They icill he confirmed by 
every future report; and in after years, the public, famil- 
iarized with y«c^5 — which are questioned only because 
they are new — icill icooider at its present incredidity^ and 
regret the loss of advantages lohich may not always be 
icithin its reach,'''' 

I submit the descriptions contained in the following 
chapters of various mines in Sonora to the attentive con- 
sideration of the public. Detailed notices of La Cananea, 
Cieneguita, and others, are given, not to show that they 
are the only good mines, but as types of different classes 
of mines which are found in the state. 

The question of labor is one which commends itself to 
the attention of the capitalist : cheap, and, under prop- 
er management, efficient and permanent. My own ex- 
perience has taught me that the lower class of Mexicans, 
with the Opata and Yaqui Indians, are docile, faithful, 
good servants, capable of strong attachment when firmly 
and kindly treated. They have been " peons" (servants) 
for generations. They will always remain so, as it is 
their natural condition. The master, if he consults his 
own interest, and is a proper person to carry on extensive 
works, is (in their own language) their " amo y patron^'' 
— " guide, philosopher, and friend." They depend upon 
him, and serve him willingly and well. 

I can fairly assert that, although having large pecunia- 



/So9iora fro77i 1859 to 1864. 95 

ry interests in both Arizona and Sonora, I have not exag- 
gerated the advantages or pahiated the drawbacks to the 
investment of capital and personal enterprise in these 
states. They are part of the Pacific Empire, in which I 
claim a citizenship of more than ten years. In these 
pages I have had but one desire : to state things as they 
are, and, in the spirit of an honorable ambition, to con- 
nect my name, in a permanent and useful way, with her 
magnificent progress to a place among the powers of tlie 
world. 

To appreciate what wonderful internal resources Sono- 
ra has, one should visit the Hacienda de la Alameta, fif- 
teen miles from Hermosillo, owned by Don Manuel Yiii- 
go, or of La Labor, owned by the Astizarans. A few 
weeks since, with a member of the Yiiigo family, I went 
over the Alameta. There are miles of wheat, corn, and 
sugar-cane. An immense field is being cleared for cot- 
ton. Some specimens of the cotton, of good, fine staple, 
growing wild, were exhibited. A flour-mill of the best 
description, with abundance of water power ; sugar mill 
and works ; a manufactory of blankets, the wool for which, 
and the dye-stufis, are grown on the place; a wagon 
manufactory is also carried on for the sole use of the ha- 
cienda; tobacco also is produced, of excellent quahty; 
oranges, lemons, pomegranates, and other tropical fruits, 
of delicious flavor, are grown in abundance. These j^laces 
are simply principalities, where a man has all the prod- 
ucts of the earth under tribute and at hand. The large 
cotton mill near La Labor, at San Miguel, has been ofier- 
ed to San Francisco capitalists on liberal terms. The cot- 
ton can be raised at its very door. Indigo, Brazil wood, 
cochineal, and other dye-stufis, grow spontaneously in the 
Yaqui and Mayo valleys ; also cofiee of the best quality. 

The following are some of the principal mining dis- 
tricts of the State of Sonora : 



96 Arizo7ia and Sooiora. 

Alamos is situated some 240 miles southeast from the 
port of Guaymas. This district is particularly rich in 
silver leads. The principal or most noted mines are Nue- 
stra Senora de V:ilvanero, in the small Real of Promon- 
torio, five miles north, which has been owned and work- 
ed by the family of Almadas for the last century. The 
present owner, Don Jose M. Almada, is now working a 
deposit of black ores, which he found at a depth of 600 
feet, with surprising results. His reduction works are 
situated at Los Mercedes, about two miles to the east of 
Alamos. The mines of Dios Padre, Santo Domingo, Lib- 
ertad Cotera, and many others, are in the immediate vi- 
cinity of Fromontorio. The Real of Minas Nuevas, about 
two miles east of Alamos, contains many rich mines; 
among them San Jose Uvalama, D;scobredora, Rosario 
de Talpa, Sambono, and others. The Rosario de Talpa 
and the Sambono are now successfully w^orked by Juan 
A. Robinson, of Guaymas, and T. Robinson Bours, of 
Stockton. The district of Alamos contributes very large- 
ly to the export of silver from Sonora. 

San Xamer is distant about 140 miles from the port 
of Guaymas in a northeast direction, and about the same 
distance southeast from the city of Hermosillo, aj^proach- 
able from both points by an excellent wagon road. This 
is one of the oldest and richest mineral districts of Sono- 
ra. There are many mines situated within a radius of 
about three miles, viz., Las Bronces, Las Cruzecitas, Las 
Afucsenos, Las Cumbres, La Division, La Naguila, Las 
Animos, La Sierra, and many others. The most import- 
ant are Las Bronces, worked by Don Mateas Alsua, who 
has erected extensive reduction works, having stamps, 
barrel furnaces, etc. ; his ores are treated by the Freyburg 
process, yielding about $1000 per day. Mr. Alsua is also 
working the Naquila. 

Las Bronces is situated about 200 yards lower down 



Sonorafrom 1859 to 1864. 97 

than Las Cruzecitas. The latter, which now belongs to 
the Las Cruzecitas Mining Company of this city, has been 
extensively developed ; ten tons can be raised daily, and, 
when farther elaborated, will yield much greater quanti- 
ties. The vein, which is particularly well defined, in- 
creases in width and richness as it descends ; and now, 
at a depth of 145 feet, the vein is nine feet wide. The 
ore of the pilares is very rich, while that from the mine 
averages over $150 per ton all through. The petanqiie 
(the miner's name for rich sulphurets of silver) extract- 
ed from the lower excavations assays over $3000 per 
ton of 2000 pounds. The company will erect reduction 
works at the mines, and think to be in operation about 
the 1st of October next. The company is managed by 
persons of wealth and high responsibility. About fifteen 
miles fron San Xavier is San Antonio de la Huerta, at 
which place is located La Mina Prieta Musidora and other 
valuable mines. In the district of Saquaripa are many 
valuable mines of both gold and silver; the famous Mula- 
tas Mine has yielded millions of fine gold, and the Ciene- 
guita Mines, worked by Mr. Robinson, of Guaymas, are 
in that vicinity. 

ILos Gedros^ belonging to Don Jose Santos Terminel, 
is situated in the district of Barroyaca, near the small 
town of Tesopaco, forty -five leagues from Guaymas in 
the direction of Alamos. This is a very rich mine, and 
has been extensively worked. It is surrounded by rich 
and arable lands. A permanent stream of water flows in 
the vicinity of the mine. 

The State of Sonora is particularly favored for mining 
operations, having plenty of fuel, pasture, and water, labor 
being abundant and cheap ; common laborers, " peons," 
to be had at from thirty -seven and one half cents per 
day, and furnace -tenders at from fifty to seventy -five 

cents. 

E 



98 A7'izona and JSonora. 

I proceed to give a brief history of the Jecker contract 
for the survey of the State of Sonora. 

In the year 1857, Messrs. Juan Bautista Jecker & Co., 
Don Antonio Escandon, and Don Manuel Payno, of the 
city of Mexico, on the one part, and J. B. G. Isham, of 
San Francisco, California, on the other, entered into a 
contract for the survey of the public lands of Sonora. 
The contract was based upon a grant to the house of J. 
B. Jecker & Co. by the general government of Mexico, 
the terms of which were an absolute transfer of one third 
of all the public lands (terrenes baldios), with the right 
of purchasing any portion of the two thirds remaining to 
the general government for cash, in preference to any 
person offering the same sum. The condition of this 
grant being an accurate survey, with maps, of the jDublic 
lands, with the most exact description possible of the cli- 
mate, productions, and advantages for commerce and 
agriculture. The time allowed for this survey was three 
years. 

By a series of deeds, this contract became vested in the 
hands of Jecker & Co., J. B. G. Isham, S. W. Inge, J. Mora 
Moss, Wm. M. Lent, and James E. Calhoun. A scientific 
commission was organized under the command of Captain 
(now General) Charles P. Stone. Perhaps never before 
was so excellent an organization for a similar purpose, 
consisting of so many accomplished men in each depart- 
ment. Vessels were purchased for the survey of the coast. 
The head-quarters of the commission were fixed at Guay- 
mas, and the survey carried on for a long time with a vig- 
or and accuracy which promised an early and successful 
completion of the work, thus securing to the contract- 
ors a property whose value can hardly be estimated in 
ordinary figures. 

Difiiculties sprang up between the state government 
and Captain Stone, which at first delayed, then entirely 



Sonorafrom 1859 to 1864. 99 

paralyzed the work, and, finally, the scientific commission 
was expelled from Sonora by the government of the state. 

It is no province of mine to enter into the merits of this 
difficulty. There are two radically different versions : On 
the one hand, Captain Stone being charged with violating 
the laws of the state, and fomenting revolution ; on the 
other, it is claimed that the state government's action was 
illegal and uncalled for. The commission proceeded to 
Arizona and built a little village, where it remained idle 
for months. Captain Stone appealed to the U. S. govern- 
ment for protection, and demanded to be reinstated in his 
rights in Sonora. The U. S. government did not sustain 
him. Negotiations with eminent capitalists for more 
funds in N'ew York, all completed, were broken up by the 
continued opposition of the government of Sonora, and 
other causes, and the work has not been renewed. 

The regular protests and legal steps were taken to se- 
cure the rights of the owners of the contract, and a very 
able oj)inion from Caleb Cushing as to the validity of the 
contract, and its binding character on the Federal Govern- 
ment of Mexico, was obtained. This opinion was answer- 
ed at length by Mr. Monteverde, Secretary of State for 
Sonora, in a paper which is claimed by his friends and the 
opponents of the Jecker contract to be able and conclu- 
sive. 

About $250,000 was expended in the survey as far as 
it had progressed, and a much smaller sum would have 
completed the entire work. It should be added that this 
contract in no way invalidates private titles to lands or 
vested rights. It includes the "terrenos baldios" — that 
is to say, " all the property of the Federal Government, 
waste lands, the old presidios, the Jesuit and Franciscan 
Missions, the lands of barbarous tribes of Indians, ene- 
mies of the white race, who have never submitted to the 
laws ; and, lastly, the lands occupied by private Individ- 



100 Arizona and Bonora. 

uals to which they have no legal title, comformable to 
Mexican laws." 

From the letters appended, it will be seen how much 
had been accomplished. I was in Sonora in 1858, and 
saw a considerable portion of the work, and since many 
of the maps. They do great credit to Stone, Jasper and 
Robert Whiting, engineers, and to the other gentlemen 
of the survey. It is hardly necessary to add that the own- 
ers of the Jecker contract fully believe in its validity, and 
in their ultimately receiving the benefits of it.* They are 
men of capital and enterprise. They undertook and car- 
ried on the work in good faith, and in a manner commen- 
surate with its magnitude and the great return they were 
to receive. The benefit to a state of such a survey can 
not be overestimated, and it is doubtful if it would have 
been undertaken, except under a liberal contract, for many 
years. 

Extracts from Coj-respondence of Captain Stone, Chief of Commission. 

Guaymas, May 19, 1S5S. 

The engineers on board have carried their work on Pinacati Bay 
about thirty-six miles, which will bring in between seven and eight 
hundred thousand acres more of public lands. They have also sur- 
veyed George's Island. 

For the past ten days I have had a party at work on a large rancho 
about four miles from town, which extends six and seven leagues on 
the coast. This survey enables us to stretch up the coast and take in 
some public land in that direction. 

June 11. Specimens of minerals and dye-woods are constantly 
brought me, and I can now, on my own knowledge, declare Sonora 
to be the richest in natural productions of the states of Mexico which 
I have seen, and those nearly all. 

July 11. I have ready two more detail maps, embracing about 
400,000 acres, and there will be a third nearly ready containing 
375,000 more. 

* It is stated that Mr. Jecker has been recognized as a French citi- 
zen, and will receive the protection of the Emperor Napoleon in assert- 
ing his rights in Mexico. 



Sonorafrom 1859 ^o 1864. loi 

July 31. You may be confident that, once settled, the lands of the 
Yaqui Valley will exceed those of Texas in her best parts. Three 
crops can be grown there each year, and the soil is inexhaustible. Had 
I half a million, I would venture it, knowing what I do, on this enter- 
prise. I send you detail maps Nos. 2, 4, and 5. 

Aug. 15. I send you detail map No. 8. Before this letter reaches 
you I shall have notes for mapping the whole of that portion of the 
coast south of Guaymas, one hundred miles of coast near Tiburan, 
and a large body of lands adjoining that coast. These surveys will 
embrace many hundred square miles of the most valuable lands in the 
state, and nearly all public lands. 

I assure you that, with a little patience, this contract must turn out 
many millions. If I am not crippled for the want of funds, I shall 
have the entire coast for a depth of thirty to forty miles ; the entire 
north line for an equal depth ; the entire southern line, and a part of 
the eastern, accomplished before the end of winter ; but if funds fail, I 
shall be forced to abandon the grandest and richest enterprise which 
has been undertaken in this country by private individuals.* 

The action taken by the governor diminishes our labors immensely, 
for now I am not obliged to measure separately the private lands, but 
work as best I can, and your rights under the contract are " conserved, 
although the limits may remain pendent through the action of what- 
ever civil or military authority or tribunal of justice." 

I have just dispatched a new set of maps, furnished for the use of 
the judge who, during these troublous times, is to hold his sittings in 
Mazatlan, and on the approval, the titles to all surveyed will be issued 
immediately. 

You will thus soon find yourself the owner of some millions of acres 
not taxable. 

Survey of Sonora, Office of Chief of Commission,> 
Guaymas, Nov. 25, 1S58. j 

Col. S. W. Inge, Washington, D. C. : 
At Mr. Moss's request, I have had constructed, and herewith inclose 
to you, a map, showing the amount of work done. It shows all that 
we can now send in, but not near all that we have partial notes of. 
Slight reconnoissances will enable us to use a great number of notes 
which we have on hand, but which require connecting explanations. 

I beg you also to see immediately Doctor Thomas Antisell, the ge- 
ologist appointed for the commission ; he is now in the Patent Office. 

* The foregoing letter was written before Messrs. Inge and Moss ad- 
vanced the money named in their contract with Mr. Calhoun. 



102 Arizona and /So?iora. 

Please furnish him with three thousand dollars — two thousand on ac- 
count of pay, and one thousand with which to purchase instruments, 
etc. — and dispatch him here by the Overland Mail. His services Avill 
be ot immense value, both before and immediately after annexation. 

The lands surveyed in the Yaqui, Mayo, and Fuerte Eiver valleys 
are rich beyond estimate, and immense bodies of them are public land. 

Dr. Antisell will be invaluable in getting possession of mines, select- 
ing those of value, and rejecting those not worth the trouble and ex- 
pense. You have the foundation of one hundred great companies in 
your contract — great land companies and great mining companies. 

Do not lose one moment in communicating with me after you re- 
ceive this, and please send me authority to draw on New York and on 
San Francisco, for, if I must carry out the entire contract under the 
estimate, I must have funds so as to not be obliged to contract the 
operations. 

You can not, so far away, conceive even the value you have. Do 
not allow the matter to fall through by delay, which will be as bad as 
abandonment. 

I shall write you by every possible opportunity, and send maps as 
fast as they can be constructed. I have a beautiful chart of this port 
and neighborhood, but can not get it copied in time to send now. 

Captain Davis has commissioned Mr. Whiting (one of our engineers) 
as his clerk, and made him bearer of dispatches to Fort Buchanan, 
whence they will be forwarded by the commandant. 
I remain, dear sir, yours very truly, 

Charles P. Stone, Chief of Commission. 

The development of the mining interest of Sonora by 
American capital has largely increased during the years 
1863 and 1864. Many new mines have been opened, and 
the prospects of nearly all are good. Among the most 
prominent mines opened lately are Las Crnzecitas, Cor- 
ral Viejo, and El Refugio, the latter on the border of 
Chihuahua. Trade with San Francisco has largely in- 
creased, and is increasing. 



3Unes of La Ga^xanea and Cieneguita^ Sonora, 10^ 



CHAPTER VI. 

THE MINES OF LA CANANEA AND LA CIENEGUITA, SONORA.* 
La Cananea: Early Working of the Mines.— Don Ygnacio Perez.— 
The Sierra of La Cananea.— Condition of the Mines in I860.— 
Their Situation.— The different Mines.— The Ores.— Chamunque. 
—Access to the Mines.— Assays of Ores.— ia Cieneguita: Situation 
of the Mines.— Early Working.— Their Abandonment.— Titles. — 
Location.— The Mines.— The Hacienda.— Fuel, Water, Building 
Materials, Wages, Provisions, etc.— Eesume. —Assays of the Ores 
of La Cieneguita. 

La Cananea.— When or by whom the mines of the 
Cananea were first opened is lost with the missing min- 
ing records of the State of Sonora. Long periods of rev- 
olution, Avhich checker the annals of that unhappy prov- 
ince, have caused the dispersion and destruction of the 
archives, and have even extinguished the faint and flick- 
ering torch of tradition. 

Seventy years ago or more they were worked on a 
large scale, and with great energy, by the house of Guea, 
of Chihuahua, but when that house went down in the 
disturbances which marked the advent of the century, 
the mining enterprise was abandoned, and remained in 
abeyance till the epoch in which Don Ygnacio P5rez re- 
established their exploitation. On the death of the elder 
Perez, his son, the second Don Ygnacio, continued the 
works but a short period, when, either from pecuniary 
embarrassment or Indian troubles, he stopped all opera- 
tions on the Cananea, devoting himself exclusively to the 
care of his numerous and extensive haciendas. 

Subsecpently to the great rising of the Apaches de 
* Reports of Robert L. D'Aumaile, INlining Engineer and Assayer 
for the State of Sonora. 



104 Arizona and JSonora. 

Paz in 1831, Don Ygnacio Perez recommenced operations 
in tlie district under the superintendence of his brother 
Bon Francisco, and ultimately under that of John P. 
Brodie, who erected new reduction works, and continued 
in charge till their final abandonment, owing to the fail- 
ure of the proprietor, and renewed Indian difficulties in 
1837. Don Ygnacio Perez retired to Mexico, where he 
died about three years since in deep poverty, leaving his 
affairs in inextricable confusion. His widow, a daughter 
of General Urrea, remains in Mexico ; his son, Francisco, 
resides in Ures. Two surviving brothers, Felipe and 
Francisco, reside in Arizpe andTJres respectively. None 
of these have any legitimate claim on the mines of La 
Cananea. 

The Sierra of La Cananea is situated about twelve 
leagues southwest of the presidio of Santa Cruz ; about 
eighteen southeast of that of San Pedro ; probably thirty- 
five miles southerly from Fort Buchanan, and not far 
from the American line. The mines (worked) are seven 
in number, of which the principal are El Ronquillo, La 
Chivatera, San Rafael, Santo Domingo, La Mina de Cobre 
Pobre, and La Mina de Plomo de Arvallo. In addition 
to these are LaMariquilla (of white copper), El Taj o (the 
ancient mine), and others ; in fact, the whole region is 
strongly mineralized and of most prepossessing exterior. 
The Hacienda de Beneficio of Perez & Arvallo is on El 
Ritto, a permanent stream at the foot of the mountains, 
about a mile or a mile and a half from the mines. The 
greater portion of the road is excellent, and the remain- 
der can be readily made so. 

The Governor of Sonora* being strongly impressed 
with the extent and value of the mineral deposits of the 

* La Cananea is the property of Don Ygnacio Pesqueira, present 
governor of Sonora. It is said a large capital is to be invested in this 
mine by foreigners. 



Mines of La Cananea and Cieneguita^ Sonora. 105 

Cananea, at his request I undertook its exploration, and 
in the middle of March of the present year, under escort 
of Don Santiago Garcia, Prefect of Arizpe, visited the lo- 
cality. We found the old hacienda a mass of ruins, over- 
grown with rank vegetation, but the new one erected by 
Mr. Brodie in such a state of disrepair that an expendi- 
ture of half its cost would probably suffice to restore it 
to its pristine condition. All the machinery had been 
destroyed by the natives in order to steal the metal- 
work, and most of the roofs had fallen. 

The situation is pleasant — on the borders of a vast 
plain, covered with wild horses, which stretches away to 
the San Pedro ; and much arable, with any quantity of 
grazing land, lies immediately around the site. Half a 
mile or so up the valley brings us to the mine of El Ron- 
quillo, called also, from its refractory ores, La Maletiosa, 
with its ancient hacienda. This mine was the property 
of Arvallo, and in dispute with Perez, who never worked 
it, being driven off by the Apaches. Government could 
not supply me a guide, and all the information I conld 
obtain on this and the other mines has been drawn from 
various, scattered, and irregular sources, and should not 
receive entire credence. I consulted all the existing 
books of the enterprise in Arizpe, but they threw no light 
on any thing except the most obvious of all, San Rafael. 

El Ronquillo has a thickness of three and a half or four 
feet of very rich ore, worked to a depth of eighty feet. 
It has several mouths, is full of water to the brim — which 
water comes from copious sj^rings in the lower workings, 
and a ravine which passes across the vein — and, from its 
situation upon the gentle slope of a hill, which gradually 
merges into the plain beneath, can not be drained by a 
tunnel, but recourse must be had to steam machinery. 
No ore of this mine was found in the debris or the Iiaci- 
enda; but I ordered search made in all the slag- heaps, 
E 2 



106 Arizona and Sonora. 

and the lead extracted, of which the assay is annexed, 
shows that the ore was extremely rich. 

Passing np the ravine, we crossed in the path more 
than one outcrop of copper ore, into which a pick had 
never been struck, but which, on assay, yielded a fair per- 
centage of copper, and a quarter of a mile above reached 
the mine of La Chivatera. La Chivatera is situated on a 
steep declivity, admirably adapted to tunnel- drainage, 
and is half full of water. It bears every external evi- 
dence of being a powerful vein, but I am assured by Mr. 
Brodie that it is really an irregular deposit. The ores 
are various, of copper, silver, and lead, those of copper 
prevailing. The teneros are full of good ore, and at their 
feet flows a permanent stream, unfit for use from mineral 
impregnation, but well placed to wash the rubbish. In 
fact, the ore thrown away in the teneros, lying in the hac- 
iendas, and metal wasted in the slags, would form a re- 
spectable fortune for a man in Europe. 

Three hundred yards higher up lies a great open cellar, 
for I can compare it to nothing else, with a small pile of 
refuse lying at one side : this is the mine, or Tajo of San 
Rafael. Judging from the small amount of earth visible, 
and the statements of the old administrador, it is nearly 
a solid mass of ore. You have ore on all sides in the 
level, so that it is impossible to tell where the vein is. 
This ore is ductile and most easily reducible — it flows 
like water in the furnace. The supply is aj^parently in- 
exhaustible. 

Farther up the glen is the Mina de Plomo de Arvallo, 
of the same character as San Rafael. The ores of these 
mines appear to consist principally of oxide and sulphate 
of lead, although vast masses of galena are found, and are 
so soft that a single barretero can throw down many 
tons a day, while the cost of extraction is nothing. The 
holes appear of trivial dimensions, and yet they have 



3Iines of La Ccmanea and Cienegidta, ^onora. 107 

been worked from time immemorial, and the litharge, or 
jugas, from San Kafael have supplied all Northern So- 
nora with that necessary article, and they have ever form- 
ed an article of export to Jesus Maria and other great 
mining towns of Central Chihuahua. 

Continuing our course and passing some false veins, 
we reach the mine of Cobre Pobre. The ore of this 
mine is boundless in extent, but of inferior quality, and I 
paid it but little attention. Near this point is the great 
vein of La Mariquilla, which I could not find for want 
of data, and of course did not visit. I had been assured 
that it was in the Sierra of la Mariquilla, four leagues to 
the northward (and it seems there is some mine there), 
and that the discoverer was dead and the site nearly 
forgotten. This mine, from its great alleged dimensions 
and the richness of the ores, had great interest for me, 
especially as the cause of its abandonment was the fact 
of its producing white copper. I had hoped that it might 
be a counterpart of the "paktong" of China, or the white 
copper of Hildburghausen, the prototype of German sil- 
ver; but the accounts were so obscure, conflicting, and 
contradictory that I could make nothing of it. 

Felipe Perez, sent by his father when a boy to learn 
book-keeping at the hacienda, recollects distinctly being 
shown it once by his father, who remarked, incidentally, 
that it was a magnificent vein, but useless, as it yielded 
nothiug but white copper. He places it in the Sierra of 
the Mariquilla, but his organ of locality is so bad that he 
loses himself in his own garden. Francisco Perez, who 
received $1000 a month from his brother to respohlar 
(literally to repopulate) the Real, asserts, on the contrary, 
that there never was any mine of white copper, but that 
this designation was applied to the grayish alloy of cop- 
per, lead, and silver extracted from the " arenillas" of La 
Chivatera. Brodie, in turn, confirms Felipe's statement, 



108 Arizona and Sonora. 

professes to know the vein well, and says that he smelted 
into one pig a number of small ingots left in the hacienda 
by the elder Perez and dispatched it to Hermosillo, where 
it was examined by Gandara, old Monteverde, and the 
other experienced miners, who pronounced it silver, but 
professed themselves unable to purify it. A similar oc- 
currence fell under my notice in Mulatos. Brodie de- 
scribes it as having the qualities of copper when smelted, 
cooling brittle, with a coarse grain, and the color and 
other properties of impure silver. 

El Tajo, the most ancient mine, is a huge rent in the 
earth like the Panys Mine in Anglesey, but the ores 
changed at the depth of thirty feet, suddenly, into py- 
rites. It is probable, from analogy, that these pyrites are 
argentiferous. Immense masses of a black rock were 
abandoned by the ancient miners in the walls under the 
supposition, probably, that they were black slate, it ap- 
pearing to me that they resembled a semi-stratified sili- 
cate of the dinoxide of copper. I carried away a frag- 
ment, whose analysis verified my conjecture. Other 
mines of argentiferous galena, varying from twelve to 
3200 ounces per ton, are alleged to exist near the Ojo de 
Agua de Arvallo ; but, having seen them, and entertain- 
ing very little hopes of seeing the latter, I forbear dilat- 
ing on their alleged extent and productiveness. 

Of all these mines, the only one which needs steam 
power for its drainage is El Ronquillo, and the oaks 
(former growth), though they have not recuperated per- 
fectly since the days of the old metal-seekers, are yet so 
abundant as to afford an ample supply of fuel for that 
purpose and the uses of the reduction works. Besides 
the oaks, there are vast and most accessible forests of 
chamunque, a species of pitch pine of great strength and 
durability, excellently adapted for machinery and build- 
ing materials. 



Mines of La Canmiea and Cieneguita^ Sonora. 109 

To convey an idea of the strength of this chamunque, 
I may mention that one of the legs of my portable cot, 
made of the best quality of ash, having yielded to the 
strain and broken, I replaced it by a piece of chamunque 
from the ruins, of much less area, and, despite twenty- 
three years of exposure to the inclemency of the weather, 
the substitute answered perfectly, being stronger, in fact, 
than when first hewn. 

The mines are accessible by a good wagon-road vm 
Santa Cruz from Fort Buchanan, Tubac, la Piedra Para- 
da, and Guaymas, and are surrounded by the great (de- 
populated) haciendas of San Bernardino, El Ojo de Agua 
de Arvallo, another Ojo de Agua, Cuitahasa, el Agua Es- 
condida, Las Animas, and Bacanuche. Another road, 
called a wagon -road, passes by Bacuachi, Arizpe, Ures, 
and Hermosillo to Guaymas. Its position is romantic 
and delightful ; pasture exists green in Bacanuche all the 
year round, and of most nutritious quality. Cultivable 
land of considerable extent is found in the same hacien- 
da, which is the natural feeder of tlje Real. The mines 
themselves are said by Felipe Perez to be on public land 
— a narrow strip or sohraiite between three ranchos. All 
the necessaries of a great establishment — building mate- 
rial and fluxes — abound in excess. Building stone, gran- 
ite, fine marble, tepustete arenillas, jugos, and ayudas, 
are plentiful, and during my search for the lost mines of 
Las Lamas and Espiritu Santo on the road to Bacanuche, 
I found a vast deposit of most refractory furnace sand- 
stone, the first I have seen in Sonora. 

The water is good and the locality healthful, and its 
proximity to the American military stations of Fort Bu- 
chanan and Arrivaypa would render feasible a project of 
united action against the Apaches, who operate at a dis- 
advantage in the wide plain that stretches av/ay to San 
Guaychequo and the San Pedro. 



110 Arizona and Bonora. 

Assays were made in Arizpe from the 24th to the 29th 
of March, 1860, of ores from the Cananea and metal from 
the scoria of the smelting furnaces, the latter to determ- 
ine the richness of the ores formerly reduced, and to dis- 
pel a universal vulgar error extant in Arizona and Sono- 
ra to the effect that the copper of La Cananea and Santa 
Rita de Cobre contained from 0.80 to $1 00 of gold per 
Spanish lb. The following were the results . 

Assay No. 785. .500 grammes lead from slags of San Rafael. 

Silver — .092 per cent. =3 marcos, 5 oz. 7 adarmes per tonelada 
de 2000 lbs. 

Gold — traces. 
Assay No. 786. .500 gms. lead from slags of El Ronquillo. 

Silver — 1 per cent. =2 m. por quintal=40 m. por ton. 

Gold — 1 oz. 3 ad. por ton. 
Assay No. 787. 2000 gms. copper from slags from old hacienda. 

Silver — .075 per cent. =24 oz. por ton. 

Gold — traces. Not determined. 
Assay No. 788. 2000 gms. copper from new hacienda. 

Silver — .11 per cent. =41 oz. 12 ad. por ton. 

Gold — too insignificant to determine. 

Adulterants — lead, carbon, iron, sulphur. 
Assay No. 789. Ores of Baranuclie. 
Assay No. 791. .205 gms. pure galena (ayudas), Ronquillo. 

Lead — 83 per cent. 

Silver — 1 per cent. =32 oz. por ton. 

Gold — slight traces. 
Assay No. 792. .100 gms. (false ore) metal de todo brosa, Ronquillo. 

Silver — 1.25 per cent. =40 oz. 

Gold — large quantity. 
Assay No. 794. .100 gms. copper ore, La Chivatera. 

Silver — .037 per cent. =12 oz. por ton. 
Assay No. 795. .100 gms. same ore. 

Copper — 32.5 per cent. 

Lead — 20 per cent, (by calculation). 
Assay No. 796. .100 gms. copper ore from untouched outcrop. 

Silver — none found. 

Copper — 32 per cent. 
Assay No. 797. .100 gms. yellow ore of La Plomosa. 

Silver — .165 per cent. =52^ oz. por ton. 

Gold — traces. 

ieac/— estimated in 60 per cent. Veiy fusible and docile. 
Assay No. 798. .100 gms. metal negro de San Rafael. 

Silver — .20 per cent. =64 oz. por ton. 

Gold — good ley. 

L^ead — not determined, but mny reseco. 
Assay No. 799. .100 gms. ore of La Escalera. 



Mines of La Cananea and Cieneguita, Sonora. Ill 

Silver— .OS per cent. =25 oz. 10 ad. por ton. 
6'o/(/— good percentage. 
Assay No. 800. .100 gms. dinoxide copper ore of Cumpas. 
Copper — 80 per cent. 
Silver — none. 

Robert L. D'Aumaile, 
Ensayador OJicial del Estado de Sonora, 
Arizpe, 29 de Mayo de 1860. 

La Cieneguita. — Having concluded the explorations 
which I was commissioned to make in relation to the 
mines and Real of the Cieneguita, I hereby embody, as 
succinctly as possible, a general resume of the results of 
ray labors. 

The Real of the Cieneguita embraces in itself and its de- 
pendencies the mines known as La Chipiona, La Colorada, 
La Cagona, La Prieta, and the vein of copper in Matara- 
chi, La Descomulgada and Los Tajos,La Viruela and El 
Reahto, San Rafael, Ostimuris, Yerba Buena, and El Po- 
trero. All these mines, with the exception of El Potrero, 
which is at some leagues distance, are found within a ra- 
dius of three miles from the central point, and the great 
Veta Madre, or principal vein, appears to be that of La 
Chipiona. 

The origin of the Real is shrouded in the mists of an- 
tiquity. Tradition even fails to indicate the period when, 
or the person by whom the mines were originally worked ; 
but the general belief, based upon ancient maps and land- 
marks, identifies it with the long-lost Real of Tayapa, fa- 
mous in the early Spanish annals. The district surround- 
ing it constituted the mining province of San Yldefonso 
de Ostimuris ; but of the actual state of the mines at that 
period the sole evidence remaining is tradition, and the 
information which may be gleaned from an inspection of 
the excavations made and the ruins left by the former 
possessors. The testimony of the oldest and most relia- 
ble inhabitants, resident near the spot from infancy, is 
unanimous to the fact that in the early part of the pres- 



112 Arizona and JSonora. 

ent century the Real remained in the same condition, un- 
der the same circumstances of abandonment and decay, 
and that the uniform tradition of the country assigned to 
them, even then, a high and unknown antiquity. 

Subsequently they were repopulated by Rafael Yalen- 
zuela, who worked two of them with great success, and 
were again abandoned on the general uprising of the 
Opatas. 

The only modern veins opened were those of San Jose 
del Pinar,now exhausted, and Yerba Buena, whose mouths 
are closed by the falling in of the pit framing. 

The abundance of ores of the Chipiona, Colorada, etc., 
was generally known and recognized, as also their rich- 
ness ; but, owing to their belonging to the class termed 
in the technology of the country rebelde (^. e., refractory 
or hard ores, sulphurets, etc.), the native miners have been 
unable to extract the silver. 

Titles. — The mines, except those of El Potrero, La Pri- 
eta, and the copper vein in Matarachi, are on the rancho 
of La Yglesia, a fine grazing estate of eighteen square 
miles in extent, belonging to and in the occupancy of Don 
Jose Yreneo Monge. The title is said to be perfect and 
undisputed — a Spanish grant of Carlos III. It is Avooded 
and watered, and contains sufficient arable land. 

The rancho of Matarachi, which bounds it on the west- 
ward, is a beautiful pine forest, with some excellent culti- 
vable land, contains nine square miles, well watered, and 
is likewise a Spanish grant of the last century. It con- 
tains the vein of La Prieta and the outcrop of copper. 

The title to these deposits is a " denouncement," as dis- 
coverer, of four pertenencias — twenty-four Mexican feet 
in length, with an appropriate width, depending on the 
inclination of the vein. The mines of Los Tajos, La Des- 
comulgada, and El Realito, each four pertenencias as res- 
poUador {i. e., repopulator). El Potrero and La Yiru- 



Mines of La Cananea and Cieneguita^ Sonora. 113 

ela, one each. La Chipiona and La Colorada, possession 
given by the Prefect of Sahuaripa on the 13th of Septem- 
ber — 1800 feet in length, with GOO on La Plomosa, and 
1350 in width, including all the present workings in the 
three mines. The sites called El Potrero, La Amargosa, 
La Cieneguita, and Yerba Buena, denounced as " hacien- 
das de beneficio" — positions for reduction works. 

Location. — The Kedl of the Cieneguita is situated in a 
pretty little dell, embosomed among lofty wooded mount- 
ains, almost at the foot of the Sierra de San Ygnacio, and 
partly embraced by the unbroken ranges of the great 
Sierra Madre. Owing to the impossiblity of procuring 
the requisite instruments, I was unable to determine the 
latitude and longitude. It is distant, by the road, four- 
teen leagues southeast of Sahuaripa, three leagues south- 
east of Tarachi, and four leagues west of Mulatos, little 
more than half that amount. The Real contains perhaps 
twenty acres of cultivable ground, admirably adapted for 
gardens, and is supplied by springs and a never-faiHng 
brook of excellent water which traverses its centre. 

The climate is mild, delightful, and probably whole- 
some ; but in winter the snow is said to fall occasionally 
two feet in depth, and ice to form in the creek as many 
inches in thickness. The stalwart frames and robust 
health of the octogenarian j^roprietor of La Yglesia and 
his lady might be envied by many a tobacco-chewing 
American of thirty-five. The road which leads to the Ci- 
eneguita and Mulatos from Sahuaripa is mountainous in 
the extreme — from Aribechi to the "Real, a distance often 
leagues, it is nearly all mountain, except the plain of Los 
Cazadores in the rancho of Agua Blanca and the valley 
of the Rio de Ostimuris, upon which the road runs from 
San Francisco to Tarachi. A considerable portion of the 
Real is covered by foundations of houses and ruins of 
smelting-works, or immense piles of scoria and rubbish. 



114 Arizona and Bonor a. 

proving incontestably to the practiced eye the vast extent 
of the mining operations formerly carried on in theReal."^ 

The Mines. — Leaving the Real, the road runs up the 
brook northwest, and about three hundred yards distant 
from the hacienda is a working of trifling depth in the 
bank of the stream, now filled with earth, called Za 
Cargona. All that is known of -it is that the metal is 
said to be plombiferous, the vein (metallic portion) one 
foot in width, and the ore to pay sixteen ounces to the 
hundred weight. Mr. Ortiz has never examined it, on 
account of the influx of water from the rivulet adjoining. 

Two miles distant, in the same direction, lies the hill 
which contains the veins of La Chipiona, La Colorada, La 
Plomosa, and another, fallen in, wdiose very name has per- 
ished. The veins have been opened in many parts by the 
Spaniards, Avho, according to their almost invariable cus- 
tom, contented themselves with sinking shafts for the ex- 
traction of the superior decomposed ores, abandoning the 
mine on reaching the sulphurets, from ignorance of the 
process for the extraction of the silver. In these sulphu- 
rets, and below the old galleries, are situated the ]3resent 
Avorkings. 

La Colorada., on the north side of the spur, is a por- 
tion of the Veta Madre (or main vein), and the workings 
are firm and perfectly dry. The part explored by Mr. 
Ortiz is about fifty feet in length and forty-five feet in 
depth. This is exclusive of another twenty-feet shaft 
eighty feet farther down the mountain, Avhere the ores 
are uncovered to the same width, and are said to be iden- 
tical in quality, but which, from oversight, I neglected to 

* The vast extent of the ancient works in thje mines of Northern 
Mexico and Arizona, taken with the fact of the undoubted richness and 
abundance of ores at present, give a guarantee of permanency for these 
mines which those of California and Nevada Territory can not yet claim. 
This is a material point, well worthy the careful attention of capitalists 
seeking mining investments. — S. M. 



Mines of La Cananea and Cieneguita, Sonora. 115 

examine. The vein in the lower planes (levels) is about 
eighteen inches wide, in parts thirty, running north-north- 
west and south-southeast, with an inclination to the south- 
east of about 15° — an excellent course and dip in Mexican 
mines. The ore from this, as well as all other accessible 
mines, was blasted from the seams in my presence and 
under my direction, and the assays are made of the gen- 
eral average of the ores in the vein, without much care be- 
ing taken in removing the adhering vein-stone. The as- 
say of this portion is marked in the table of assays 690. 

JLa Chipiona is also upon the Veta Madre, the vein hav- 
ing the same direction and dip as in La Colorada. The 
shafts are two in number, some thirty feet asunder, and 
about the same number of feet in depth. They are now 
partly full of water from the heavy rains and suspension 
of labor, the miners being engaged at present in their 
planting-grounds. The vein has a width, in the lowest 
accessible part, of twenty to thirtj^-six inches, exclusive 
of the vein walls, and is said to carry the same depth and 
quality of metal down. 

The ores are of a class somewhat different from and 
more difficult of reduction than those of the Colorada, 
being " bronces apetancados" (bisulphurets of iron, with a 
compound sulphuret of silver, iron, lead, and copper), and 
are said to give in the German process 160 ounces per ton 
of 2000 lbs., and contain alloy of gold. The ores of La 
Colorada give, by the same process, 212 to 320 ounces 
per ton, according to Mr. Ortiz. Assays marked 691-2-3. 

Not half the superficial excavations of the ancient min- 
ers upon this vein have been cleaned out, and the falling 
in of their lahores can be traced all the way across the 
crest of the hill — say 250 yards — up to the mouth of La 
Colorada. Above the main vein is a cross vein, of four to 
six inches, cutting it nearly at right angles. Its ore is 
said to yield 318 ounces of silver per ton. The assay will 



116 Arizona and Sonora. 

be found marked No. 693 ; but it is believed that this ore 
was somehow confounded in the transportation with that 
of the lower shaft of the main vein (No. 692). 

Nine hundred feet distant, in a straight line, in a spur 
of the same Cerro, is the adit of Xa Plomosa. The upper 
workings, being badly planned, have recently fallen in from 
the pressure of the rubbish in old drifts, and the miners 
have driven a level in the solid rock one hundred and fifty 
feet farther down, which has advanced fifty feet, but has 
not yet struck the ore. They are argentiferous galenas, 
with a matrix of stratitic " calishe," said to yield eighteen 
per cent, of lead, and ninety-six ounces of silver per ton. 
I assayed one of the isolated masses taken at random from 
the excavations of the drift, which gave a higher percent- 
age. The assay is marked 694. Both this vein and La 
Chipiona run across the valley and strike the opposite 
mountain. The yawning mouths of the old mining 
shafts are visible all the way across in many difierent 
points. 

All these points are dry, except from the infiltration of 
surface water from the workings and rain flowing into 
the uncovered shafts, and even if worked to a great depth 
arc capable of being drained with comparative ease by 
means of a tunnel, as the Chipiona debouches upon an ab- 
rupt descent of many hundred feet. The- walls are firm, 
the vein regular, and presenting every indication of per- 
manence. There is more ore stripped and in view in La 
Colorada and La Chipiona than that lying in the patios. 

A quarter of a mile southwest of the Yerba Buena are 
the mines of Los Tajos. The hill-side is covered with 
the buried workings of the ancients, and the superior 
portion of the vein is in a 'very precarious condition. 
Mr. Ortiz has driven a tunnel in below, to avoid the cost 
and trouble of removing the rubbish. Having mislaid 
my notes on the vein, I am unable to speak with precis- 



Mines of La Gananea and Cieneguita^ So^iorcn 117 

ion, but it is something like half a yard in width, with a 
very heterogeneous medley of ores. 

It runs completely through the mountain, as very con- 
siderable works are visible on the opposite side, but 
whether "en metales" or not is not known. The ores 
are contracted to be delivered, clean, in the patios at $4 
per 300 lbs., and are said to yield sixty ounces of silver 
per ton ; but they are loaded with titaniferous and zinc- 
iferous minerals. Assay of such ores as v/ere accessible 
marked 695. 

La Descomulgada is situated about a league west- 
northwest of the Yerba Buena. Its matrix is a very 
hard silicious rock, which crumbles with great rapidity 
under the combined influence of air and moisture. The 
recent rains had filtered through the old workings into 
the drift made by Mr. Ortiz, and brought down a portion 
of the ceiling, so that access was impossible, and I can 
give no description of it. The vein is said to be wide, 
and the superficial ores so easily worked that contracts 
were made to deliver it, dressed, in the mine mouth, at 
$1 per 300 lbs. It is said to give 130 ounces to the ton, 
and to be of easy reduction. 

La Yerba Buena is a modern mine — said to have been 
very rich — whose mouths have fallen in, a few hundred 
yards from the Yerba Buena, on the road to the Desco- 
mulgada. Nothing more is known concerning it. 

Los Ostimuris^ on the road to Yerba Buena, about half 
way from the Cieneguita, has two open mouths, and is 
full of water, the drifts running under the brook. Mr. 
Monge says it was abandoned, with abundant ores, on 
the outbreak of the Opatas, and, as the shafts were shal- 
low, the vein wide, and the ores yielding four hundred 
and fifty ounces per ton, he entered into a contract with 
a skillful miner, and put up wims and machinery for 
drainage. His partner died just as they were approach- 



118* Arizona and Sonora. 

ing completion, the Apaches drove ofi* the animals, and, 
being entirely ignorant of mining, he abandoned the en- 
terprise. 

La Prieta^ on the rancho of Matarachi, about two 
leagues east of the Cieneguita, has a width of from four 
to six feet — the opening is merely a trial-pit, which the 
rains had filled with earth and stones, so that it is impos- 
sible to give any oj^inion concerning it. The ores of the 
outcrop are a melange of different sulphurets, heavily 
charged with coj^per. It is probable that a much short- 
er, better, and less circuitous route than that which leads 
past the Real of the Cieneguita can be cut through the 
woods direct to Buena Yista. Assay of ore (which can 
not be regarded as a fair sample) marked ISTo. 696. They 
are said to yield sixty ounces to the ton. The copper 
vein, also a trial hole, is situated on the crest of the hill 
directly above. 

El Potrero^ eight leagues distant, I did not visit. It 
is said to be an immense " clavo," of volcanic origin, and 
unknown extent, at the intersection of two veins. The 
ore is without alloy of silver ; but, containing much oxide 
of lead and spar, it forms an excellent flux for the ores 
of La Prieta and Los Tajos. The cost of carriage is the 
only expense. 

La 'Viruela, east half a mile from the site of La Amar- 
gosa, is a lofty hill, from which large quantities of gold 
have been extracted; but the whole hill (summit) has 
fallen in, and all attempts to establish workings to reach 
the ores beneath, without removing the superincumbent 
debris, have resulted in failure. 

La Amargosa, and the rivulet which runs beneath El 
Realito, are constantly washed for gold. The gambus- 
sinos told me that they realized about six reals per diem. 

Hacienda de Beneficio. — The existing hacienda con- 
sists of two small patios and lavadero of masonry (part 



Mines of La- Cananea and Cieneguita^ Sonora. 119 

of the ancient works), three tahonas or arrastras, two 
vasos de funcliciou, one melting furnace and one reverber- 
atory, with the requisite sheds, three barrels mounted on 
the German plan, a worthless battery of three stamjDS (ii 
la Mejicana), and the proprietor's residence. These are 
situated in a group in the centre of the valley. There 
are other buildings and inclosures not connected with 
the hacienda. 

The water of the creek is not sufficiently abundant for 
machinery, and an examination was made of La Amar- 
gosa, one fourth of a mile east, which, by a moderate ex- 
penditure in ditch and tunnel, might be diverted from its 
course and brought through the Real. This stream is 
permanent, and furnishes a considerable volume of water, 
with a natural fall of 100 feet, within a space of 100 
yards, in its own valley. As my measuring instruments 
were lost in crossing the Kio Grande, these estimates 
must be considered in the light of guesses, though I am 
convinced that they are close approximations to the truth. 
The connection of these two streams has been advocated 
by a German engineer, but, in my opinion, on very unten- 
able grounds ; as, in addition to the expense, all the ad- 
vantages which this sudden fall presents for the erection 
of a reaction water-wheel would, from the conformation 
of the ground, be almost entirely lost. 

In La Amargosa are the ruins of a dam, race, and res- 
ervoir of masonry, two tahonas de agua, houses, etc., a 
standing memorial of miscalculation and bad engineer- 
ing. Around the base of the hill which contains the 
Chipiona, and not over 400 yards distant, flows a stream 
capable of giving motion to two large wheels, but which 
is said to aftbrd water in times of drought only four 
months in the year. I consequently paid no more atten- 
tion to it. 

The next point examined was Yerha Buena, from two 



120 Arizo7ia and Sonora. 

to three and a half miles southeast from the Real, four to 
four and a half from La Chipiona, and about one fourth 
from Los Tajos. The river is the Arroyo de los Ostimu- 
ros — water permanent ten months, and sufficient to turn 
the wheels during the remainder of the year. An excel- 
lent natural foundation for a dam, of solid rock, exists 
here at a waterfall, the distance between the abutments 
being only twenty-four feet, and no leakage of any kind 
being possible. The natural abutments are about twen- 
ty-five feet high. 

Water sufficient for saw-mill, flouring-mill, and hacien- 
da de beneficio of considerable extent. By my measure- 
ment, rudely taken, a race and flume of 1250 feet would, 
with a six-foot dam, give a fall of full sixty feet — ample 
for all practical purposes. A natural tail-race, which 
needs but little deepening, is found at this point. 

Situation good and pleasant, with plenty of garden 
land, building stone, arrastra stone, oaks, pines, some ash 
and juniper. Here are the remains of a long line of 
sheds, which were once the smelting works of Los Tajos, 
those of La Descomulgada and Yerba Buena being far- 
ther down the creek. This location, though somewhat 
distant from the principal mines, is favorable in every 
other respect. The road to the Cieneguita is rocky and 
bad, but a good one of regular descent, in soft earth, is 
said to exist on the outer side of the ravine. 

Fuel^ Water ^ Pasturage^ etc. — The subject of water has 
been fully discussed under the head of Hacienda de Bene- 
ficio. Wood is abundant to excess. The mountains and 
valleys are covered with a plentiful, often heavy growth 
of oaks (live oak, holm oak, and other species), white and 
pitch pine, etc., while juniper and ash are found in the 
water-courses in quantities sufficient for purposes of con- 
struction. 

Pasturage of excellent quality is found every where, 



Mmes of La Cancmea and Gienegidta^ Sonora. 121 

as the forests are free from underwood (from the fre- 
quent bush fires), and animals are said to fatten all the 
year round. 

I may add that Mr. Ortiz undertakes to procure from 
the proprietor of La Yglesia a free and gratuitous conces- 
sion in perpetuity of the right to take, use, and enjoy all 
the wood, pasturage, and water power which may be 
needed for mining and reduction of metals, and all other 
purposes incidentally connected therewith. 

Lime^ StoJie^ Clay^ and Building Materials. — Lime- 
stone is found in various parts ; it has been sought for, 
and is not known to be abundant. Stone of a very re- 
fractory character, for furnaces, falls in the same category, 
as it is not known to exist nearer than Sahuaripa. Clays 
abound, those of a talcose nature especially, but none 
known to be fireproof. Fire-clay is said to be met with 
near Mulatos, and Don Jose Maria Lopez, w^ho is certain- 
ly competent to judge, assures mo that there is a large 
bed of superior quality building stones, and timber is in- 
exhaustible. 

Labor ^ Wages, Provisions, Carriage, etc. — All the la- 
borers employed in the mines unite the profession of 
ranchero or farmer Avith that of miner ; but I am assured 
by competent authority that any amount of skilled labor, 
if required, can be drawn, without the slightest difficulty, 
from Mulatos, Jesus Maria, La Trinidad, Tarachi, and 
Valle. 

The wages are, for tentateros,* barreteros, arrieros, 
peons, etc. (miners and general mining laborers), four 
reals per diem; azogueros, afinadores (not required in 
the German process), $1. 

* Tentateros, those who pack out the ore, in sacks made of hide, on 
their backs. Barreteros, those who use tlie bar in the mines. Azogue- 
ros, the amalgamators in the patio process. Afinadores, refiners by the 
cupel or "vaso." — Four reals is fifty cents. — Faner/a, 175 lbs. — Ley, 
the amount of precious metal in ores. 

T? 



122 Arizona and iSonora. 

Wood, at present (but can be supplied much cheaper), 
one real the carga of eighty billets ; charcoal, two reals 
the hundred weight. Salt, |8 to $10 the carga of 300 
lbs. ; maize and wheat (selling price), $6 the fanega. 
Wheat and Indian corn can be purchased in the Tierra 
Fria at four reals the fanega (of Yizcaia)^ and contracts 
can be made for its dehvery at the Real (in quantity) at 
an advance of about 500 per cent, on cost price, say 
$3 50 to $3 75 per fanega (of Sonora). 

Freight from Guaymas, $80 to $90 per ton ; from Sa- 
huaripa, $3 per carga (300 lbs.) ; cattle, $10 to $15; hides, 
$1 each ; mules and horses, dear ; powder of the country, 
$7 per arroba (of 25 lbs.) ; tallow, $7 per arroba. 

Resume. — In recapitulation of what I have said before, 
my opinion is that the mines, alluding particularly to the 
Yeta Madra of La Chipiona, are of excellent quality, the 
ores of good ley and abundant, and of facile extraction. 
I have found, in conversation with old and experienced 
mine-masters in diiferent parts of the country, that the 
richness of the silver of the "bronces," "prietos 6 que- 
mazones," and "metales espejuelosas" — pyrites, blendes, 
and mixed sulphurets of Cieneguita — has been generally 
knoYv'n to those conversant with mining affairs, but that 
their known "rebeldia," the impossibility of extracting 
the precious metals by the antiquated and inefficient pro- 
cesses of the country, has rendered their reduction a hope- 
less task. This difficulty is completely obviated by the 
use of the German process of chlorinization with sal ma- 
rina and subsequent amalgamation — a process for which 
they are peculiarly adapted. It is to be observed that 
two items of expense in most of the mining districts 
of the republic — jugos and magistral (" fluxes") — are 
not incurred here, the ores yielding a surplus of these es- 
sentials for sale in less favored quarters. The mines are 
in the solid rock, with firm walls, without slips or out- 



3Iines of La Cananea and Cieneguita^ Soiiora. 123 

throws, and all expense of timbering galleries and shafts 
will be spared the mine-OAvners ; but the ores are hard, 
and require blasts for their extraction. 

I would recommend sinking two shafts of one hundred 
varas in the workings of La Colorada and La Chipiona 
(should the ores, which is probable, extend so far), to 
thoroughly test the vein, running a drift from the pit bot- 
toms to connect, and then working the vein from below 
upward, before the expense of creating a very large hac- 
ienda be incurred. 

Labor, except of skilled artisans, is abundant and cheap 
in the immediate vicinity. Wood and water power for 
every needful purpose abound, but the distance of the 
most eligible site of the latter can not be less than four 
miles from the Chipiona. 

Pasture and tillage-ground is afforded to any required 
extent by the ranches of La Yglesia and Matarachi. In 
fine, if the ores continue, as they give every promise of 
doing, the amount of silver extracted will depend entire- 
ly upon the extent of the operations, and the energy, skill, 
and economy of the management.* 

* Since the visit of Mr. D'Aumaile we have received samples of 
ores of the "Descomulgada," which the proprietors have lately been 
working : the vein is wide, the ores easily extracted, and the ley flat- 
tering. The " Ostimuros" mine is at present full of water, but can be 
cleared at a small expense ; the reports of its richness are very flatter- 
ing. From what I have learned from Mr. D'Aumaile, the pro'prietors, 
and others, the sites for forming "haciendas de beneficio" are numer- 
ous, and the water power which can be brought into action will move 
more machinery, applied judiciously, than will be needed for working 
the mines. Timber for the erection of the works is abundant, as also 
copper ore, which metal can be used with greater economy than im- 
ported iron for castings that may be required. At a comparatively 
small expense, excellent roads can be formed from each of the mines 
to the hacienda, as well as to the adjoining towns. As stated at the 
commencement of this, these mines can only be worked with success 
upon a large scale, for many reasons — at least $200,000 is req^uired. 



124 Arizona and Sonora. 



Assays of Ores of the Cieneguita, September and Octoher^ 1859. 
No. 690. La Colorada, 172 oz. silver per ton of 2000 lbs. 
Gold^ trace. 

691. La Chipiona (upper shaft), 224 oz. silver per ton. 

692. -" ' " (lower shaft), 318 " " " 

693. " " (cross vein), 190 " " " 

694. La Plomosa (from new adit), 108 " " " 

696. LaPrieta 30 " *' " 
721. " " (bell-metal ore), 21.54 per cent, copper. 

697. La Chipiona (bronces), 160 oz. per ton. 



Assays of ores brought by Sr. Ortiz — Nos. 835-842 : 
Assay No. 835. Ore rejected in the "terreros" as worthless, Bronces 
ochavados. 
Silver — 3 per cent. =12 marcos=96 oz. per Spanish ton of 

2000 lbs. 
Gold — much stronger standard than in 836. 
Assay No. 836. Average of ore now taken from La Colorada. 
Silver — 5 per cent. =20 marcos (160 oz.) per ton. 
Gold— as in 841. 
Assay No. 837. Ore of superior quality (Petanques hechos), La Colo- 
rada. 
Silver — 65 per cent. =26 mar. (208 oz.) per ton. 
Gold — heavy ley not determined. 
Assay No. 838. Decomposed superficial ore, La Descomulgada. 
Lead — 20.4 per cent. =408 lbs. per ton. 
Silver — .3686 per cent. =14 m. 6 oz. 1|- adarmes (118 1-11 oz.) 

per ton. 
Gold — .335 oz., or ^ oz. in each marco of silver. 
Assay No. 839. Ore of El Potrero — qualitative analysis. 

Silver — very small ley ; gold not sought ; lead, antimony, cop- 
per. 
Assay No. 841. Assay for gold of plata de fuego. La Colorada. 

Gold— 1.5025 oz. per quintal=3 mar. 7 oz. 3 och. (31| oz.) 
per ton. 
Assay No. 842. Assay for gold of plata de fuego. La Descomulgada. 
Gold— 2 oz. 15 gr. per quintal=5 mar. 5 och. (40|^ oz.) per ton. 
Robert L. D'Aumaile, Assayer. 



The Sierra Madre of Neio Mexico. 125 



CHAPTER VII, 

THE SIERRA MADRE OF NEW MEXICO.* 

Mineral "Wealth of Northern Mexico. — The Sierra Madre. — Mining 
under the Spanish Dominion. — Ancient and Modern Mines. — Pres- 
ent Modes of Mining. — The Miners. — Gambussinos. — Their Mode 
of Working. — Causes of the Decay in Mining. — Habits of the Min- 
ers. — Borascas and Bonanzas. — Expulsion of the Spaniards. — With- 
drawal of Military Forces. — Ravages of the Indians. — Lack of Ma- 
chinery. — Various Causes for the Abandonment of Mines. — Necessi- 
ty for Foreign Capital and Energy. — Inducements for its Invest- 
ment. — Political Relations of Sonora and Chihuahua. — The Apaches. 
— Special Advantages of Chihuahua, Sonora, and Sinaloa. — Value 
and Distribution of the Ores. — Means of acquiring the Right to 
Mines. — Hints to Capitalists. 

The object of this present chapter is to give a short 
description of the mineral resources of N'orthern Mexico, 
its past and present state of mining, the cause of its de- 
cay, and its future prospects. If it prove of service to 
those Californians who take an interest in the mines of 
that part of the world, the wa-iter, for many years en- 
gaged in mining pursuits there, will be amply repaid for 
his trouble. 

Mexico is well known as a rich mineral country, hav- 
ing contributed a large share to the circulating medium 
of the world's commerce, and, so far from its mineral 
wealth being exhausted, it may be considered as almost 
virgin yet. The matrix of all this wealth is to be found 
in the Mexican Cordilleras and their branches, which run 
more or less parallel with the Pacific coast. 

* For this and the following chapter I am indebted to A. W. C. 
Brawns, Esq., an English gentleman resident in Sonora, a most intel- 
ligent and reliable authority, to whom I return my thanks for these 
notes.— S. M. 



126 Arizona and Sonora. 

That part of the Cordilleras which is of more imme- 
diate interest, and which forms, as it were, the natural 
boundary between the states of Chihuahua and Durango 
on the west, and of Sonora and Siualoa on the east, is call- 
ed the Sierra Madre^ or " Mother Mountains," branches 
of which diverge into the four mentioned states in all di- 
rections, being, however, of more alpine a character only 
in those states which border on the Pacific Ocean. These 
Mother Mountains and their principal branches are, in- 
deed, most prolific in all the precious minerals ; so much 
so, that it may be safely asserted there is hardly a village 
district or grazing estate in these mountain regions but 
can show some vein of gold, silver, lead, or copper, while 
many of the rivers and creeks of the glens and valleys 
contain placer gold in more or less abundance. But it 
must not be inferred from this that all these veins are be- 
ing worked, or that the country has been fully explored, 
for nothing would be farther from the truth ; probably not 
one fourth of the existing metallic wealth is known, while 
but a moiety of it has been or is being developed. 

During the Spanish reign mining was far more extens- 
ively prosecuted than since the independence of Mexico, 
which is testified by numberless old abandoned mines, 
here called antiguas^ or ancient, and by the diminished 
annual production of gold, silver, and copper. Under the 
Spanish government, which did its utmost to foster this 
important branch of industry, the miners had many priv- 
ileges and great advantages ; they had peace and securi- 
ty ; mineral aviadores, or providers of goods and j^rovis- 
ions, which they obtained on credit ; government com- 
missaries, who furnished them with quicksilver at low 
rates ; abundance of good labor at merely nominal wages ; 
and any amount of cheap cattle, horses, and mules. This 
enabled them to successfully work with a small capital 
many mines, which under the present circumstances would 



The Sier^^a Madre of Neio Mexico. 127 

prove but losing investments to small capitalists. Al- 
though the Spaniards prosecuted their mining operations 
more extensively, and with greater industry, perseverance, 
and success, it is not evident that they possessed a great- 
er amount of mineralogical knowledge than the Mexicans 
of the present day. Indeed, numerous ancient surface ex- 
cavations of veins, without any shafts and drifts, still show 
that many of the former dedicated themselves only to 
that easy mode of surface working which most readily 
furnished them payable ores, and abandoned the veins for 
new ones as soon as the raising of the ores became more 
difficult, or the latter diminished in their intrinsic value. 
Nevertheless, many of the best preserved mines, which 
date from that time, will favorably compare with those 
of modern development. 

At the present time, when mining has reached its low- 
est ebb in Northern Mexico, there are but few mines Avhich 
create special comment ; hence the erroneous opinion of 
many travelers, who pay flying visits to that part of the 
world, that the mines of Alamos, Cedros, San Xavier, San 
Antonio de la Huerta, and Babicanora, in the State of 
Sonora; those of Rosario, in Sinaloa, and those of Guada- 
lupe Calvo, Cerro Cahui, Batopilas, Yasaparas, and Pal- 
marejo, in the State of Chihuahua, are the only ones of 
merit. Without detracting from the value of these really 
good mines, it may be safely asserted that there are many 
hundreds of veins worked in a quiet, unostentatious, and 
often shiftless manner, which lose nothing by comparison, 
Avhile a good many far excel them in the intrinsic value 
of their ores. But, generally, the mines of this part of 
Mexico are worked in a manner which, though it may 
satisfy their unambitious owners, can never fairly develop 
their inherent wealth, and which often causes their total 
abandonment. There is but little capital invested in most 
of these enterprises, little or no expeditious and labor-sav- 



128 Arizona and Sonora. 

ing machinery used, and but a small number of operatives 
employed; consequently, no equable and grand results 
can be expected. As a general rule, metallic veins do not 
contain in all their parts the same intrinsic value of ore : 
in different stretches there will be poor, fair, good, and 
exceedingly rich ores ; it follows, then, that in working a 
-vein only in a few isolated spots — as is necessarily the 
case where the want of capital prevents the occupation 
of many operatives, and the subsequent opening of many 
shafts and drifts — the miner takes his chance of luck ; he 
is generally content if he manages to pay his way along 
while the ores are poor ; to lay by a little for the day 
when a " horse" or cut makes its appearance in the vein, 
confident that sooner or later he may strike a rich stretcli 
of ore, and rise in a few weeks or months to be a man of 
more or less fortune. These stretches of very rich ore 
are at uncertain distances, and of more or less extent, 
sometimes lasting for weeks, months, and even years. 
When a mine is worked on a large scale, the enterprise 
is less exposed to extremes ; for from the many different 
l^arts of the vein there is constantly ore of all classes 
raised, and the poor, good, and rich ores furnish in the 
aggregate a certain average, and insure an equable and 
constantly profitable return. Most of the Mexican mines, 
if worked on a large scale, would yield revenues that 
would make a bank director's mouth water. 

In speaking of mines, a word of miners is not amiss : 
There is a numerous body of poor Mexican miners, the 
" gambussinos," who, though originally a very deserving 
class of people, have done much harm to the mining inter- 
est, and, although their ill-directed industry has contrib- 
uted momentarily to augment the productiveness of min- 
ing, and, indeed, has solely sustained many mining towns, 
they have nevertheless proved themselves a bane to the 
country. (Those petty miners who dedicate themselves 



The fSierra Madre of New Mexico. 129 

to the working of " placers" are not included in this de- 
nunciation of gambussinos, albeit they bear the same ap- 
pellation.) 

In former times, before the devastating incursions of 
the Apache Indians, the gambussinos occupied themselves 
in prospecting and discovering mineral veins, which they 
generally sold to persons of capital ; they also personally 
raised and reduced ore in sufficient quantity for their in- 
dependent subsistence; and as they Avere a numerous 
body, the small portions of gold and silver annually pro- 
duced by each individual formed quite a large aggregate. 
But when the hostilities of the Apaches rendered it un- 
safe for single individuals to traverse the country in all 
directions, many of them betook themselves in bodies to 
work in such mines as had been abandoned by their for- 
mer owners. This would have been of great benefit if 
they had formed an association under the direction of 
one or more of their number, instead of which they only 
congregated together for the sake of mutual protection, 
Avhile each individual did as he j^leased. Working with- 
out order and foresight, and without those salutary 
checks on their operations which were interposed by the 
mining inspectors in former times, they break out ore 
only where most handy and rich ; and, to save time and 
labor, they throw the poor ores and rubbish into those 
shafts and drifts that are of no immediate interest to 
them, and thus render them soon impassable. When the 
ores turn poor in the unobstructed shafts, they, perhaps, 
regret to have cut off the access to those in other i^arts 
of the vein ; but as it is too troublesome and costly to 
reopen them, they commence to diminish the size of the 
ore-pillars, and frequently extract some of them altogeth- 
er. The vein walls, losing their required support, begin 
to crack, and Nature generally settles the business with a 
great crash. Never mind, there are other abandoned 

F2 



130 Arizona and Sonora. 

mines at hand, to Avhich they betake themselves, to play 
the same game over again, with generally the same re- 
sults ; so that, when a mine has once been fairly squatted 
upon by these would-be miners, it is sure to be more or 
less spoiled, and requires often a large expenditure of la- 
bor and capital to reopen. 

A good deal of the decay of the mining interest is to 
be attributed to the miners personally. Many persons 
engaged in mining enterprises without the requisite 
knowledge and capital to insure success, very often in- 
volved themselves in debts, which as often they were 
unable to pay ; their failure created distrust, and caused 
all that credit, which formerly was given by the mer- 
chants most liberally, gradually to disappear, much to 
the detriment of the mining industry of the country. 
Until experience had taught them better, the majority 
of Mexican miners, servants as well as masters, were of 
the most spendthrift, gambling disposition. Almost all 
the Spaniards who worked mines in Mexico were so suc- 
cessful, and realized fortunes so easily and rapidly, that 
most of their Mexican successors thought their fortunes 
assured by merely being the owners of mines, altogether 
forgetting that it was also indispensable to personally 
look after their business, and to practice prudence and 
economy. Their lavish, gambling mode of life, their neg- 
ligence and laziness, no mine in the world was rich 
enough to sustain ; consequently, when a horasca^ made 
its appearance, as it will in every mine once in a while, 
they not only found themselves without the means of in- 
dulging farther in vice and extravagance, but not unfre- 
quently without the requisite funds to enable them to 
pierce through the poor ores and dead rock in order to 

* Borasca is .1 temporary failure of the vein or of rich metal. It is 
the antithesis of bonanza, which signifies a rich and extensive deposit 
of metal in the vein. 



The Sierra Madre ofNexo Mexico. 131 

strike the rich ores again. Credit, under such circum- 
stances, they could not obtain, for who would trust a 
gambling spendthrift ? consequently, they were obliged 
to sell or abandon mines that had produced hundreds of 
thousands, and even millions. Their successors no soon- 
er struck a bonanza than, either from inclination or se- 
duced by others, they commenced to enjoy life in pretty 
much the same manner, which, Avith but few exceptions, 
ended in like results. "Like master, like man:" the 
overseers and servants, finding the business left entirely 
in their own hands, soon began to think that a few 
pounds of ore — every day more or less — would make no 
difference and never be missed ; and, being excellent 
judges of ore, they always selected the very richest for 
themselves — ore so rich that a few pounds of it often 
enabled them to imitate their master's carousing- and 
gambling on a small scale. Is it to be wondered at that, 
under such circumstances, the pursuit of mining should 
have decayed gradually ?. 

However, gambussinos and miners are not alone to 
blame ; for many are the causes of the decay of mining 
in Northern Mexico, and they all emanate more or less 
directly from the overthrow of the Spanish domination. 
The first suicidal act of the Mexican government was the 
expulsion of the Spanish from the country, which gave a 
fatal blow to the mining interest by abstracting from it 
almost all the capital and well-directed industry which, 
until then, had sustained it in splendor, and caused the 
suspension and abandonment of many mining operations. 
The establishment of the republican form of government 
did not prove a panacea for all the evils the Mexicans 
were suffering from, and led to continual revolutions ; 
the government, always more or less in need of the mili- 
tary forces to quell rebellions in the capital and the prin- 
cipal cities of the interior of the republic, which are the 



132 Arizona and Sonora. 

hotbeds of revolutions, was compelled to greatly reduce, 
and finally, from the empty state of the treasury, alto- 
gether withdraAV the troops from the northern frontier 
states, where, until then, they had afforded protection 
against the daily increasing hostilities of the Apaches. 
In consequence, all the more immediately exposed mines, 
hamlets, and ranches in the states of Chihuahua and So- 
nora were gradually abandoned, as few of them employ- 
ed a sufficient number of people to afford a self sustaining 
protection. Prior to this, however, many mines had al- 
ready been abandoned in Sonora, in consequence of the 
uprising of the Opata and Yaqui Indians, who were liv- 
ing in the eastern and southern part of the state, which 
caused a sanguinary struggle of some duration. Many 
mines were also deserted in consequence of the rebelhous 
of thfe Papago and Seri Indians ; and although all these 
half-civilized tribes were re-subjugated, many mines re- 
mained in an abandoned state, or were squatted upon by 
gambussinos. 

A great many mines, although not situated so near to 
the habitats of the savages as to render a residence inse- 
cure to life, are in districts devoid of arable lands and 
deficient in water power : the reduction of their ores by 
the amalgamation process, the principal manipulations of 
which were effected by horse or mule power, required a 
constant supply of well-conditioned animals ; but when 
it became impossible to securely keep these in the natu- 
ral pastures of the country, and their maintenance in sta- 
bles proved too costly on account of the difficulties of 
transit and the consequent high price of provender, many 
of these mines were gradually abandoned by their own- 
ers, to whom the application of steam power was either 
unknown, or, for want of capital, impossible. 

Many mines, again, have been abandoned when the 
first stretch of jDOor ore, or a cut in the vein, appeared, 



The Sierra Maclre of New Mexico. 133 

owing to the want of perseverance and means, or the ig- 
norance and apathy of their owners ; while others were 
left on account of the abundance of inherent water, for 
the extraction of which the here known appUcations of 
windlasses, wims, and drain -tunnels were either found 
insufficient or inapplicable. Others, again, were deserted 
on account of sufibcation, and a great number because 
the ores were too rebellious to yield to the simple modes 
of reduction known to their ignorant owners. Not un- 
frequently the owners, before abandoning their mines, 
would break out the ore pillars, thereby rendering the 
reopening of them by others more difficult and expen- 
sive. 

All these outward pressures have necessarily operated 
most injuriously on the mining interest of the country, 
Avhich, in spite of the immense natural mineral wealth of 
the country, has been decaying. To look for an improve- 
ment of this state of things to tlic Mexicans alone seems 
hopeless indeed. They possess their virtues, but a v^ant 
of enterprise, of mutual confidence and spirit of associa- 
tion, of industry and perseverance, which characterizes 
them, is not likely to lift them out of their present de- 
spondency, and to effect the regeneration of their superb 
country. 

A foreign element is now required to revive mining in 
that part of JMexico, and to restore it to its pristine splen- 
dor and productiveness. Several enterprises, undertaken 
of late by foreigners, invite imitation, and give cheering 
hopes that mining will once more become the mainstay 
of the country. Such mines as the Sierra Madre pre- 
sents must and will he xoorhed as soon as they become 
known abroad. It was but recently stated by Sir Rod- 
erick Murchison, the eminent geologist (communicating 
to the Royal Geographical Society the results of the trav- 
els of Charles Savin, Esq., who, accompanied by an assay- 



134 Arizona and Sonora. 

ei- and practical Cornisli miner, had lately visited the Sier- 
ra Madre), " ^Art?, vnth foreign capital and perseverance^ 
almost all the mines and veins of that part of Mexico 
icoidd yield good results f^ and the dividends that several 
foreign companies have been lately paying iucontestably 
show that, with proper management, mining investments 
in that comitry are not only safe, but highly remunera- 
tive. Since the discovery of the Washoe silver mines, a 
great spirit of enterprise has been manifested by Califor- 
uians to make investments of this class; but as they can 
not all be accommodated near home, it is most proper to 
direct them to Northern Mexico, than which no country 
can hold out greater inducements. The field for mining 
enterprises here is immense ; for, not to mention the in- 
finitude of undeveloped veins, the mines, with but few 
exceptions, may be considered as virgin yet ; for works 
to the depth of 100 yards or so are but surface works, 
and ofier for centuries yet to come profitable employ- 
ment to people that may be counted by millions. But it 
must not be inferred that Northern Mexico is an imme- 
diate field for poor miners, although the day is probably 
not far distant when even such may find it to their ad- 
vantage to transplant themselves to that country. 

"To work a mine requires another mine," is an old 
Spanish saying, Avhich, like most proverbs, contains a 
truth ; and although there are many mines in Northern 
Mexico which, worked even on a moderate scale, may 
and do pay well enough, yet, to insure equable and con- 
stantly profitable returns, it can not be repeated too oft- 
en, necessitates the investment of large capitals. The in- 
ducements to mining enterprises in that country, it has 
been said already, are very great, and can not fail to at- 
tract foreign capital when they become more known, 
and when the objection generally raised, "the unsettled 
state of political afiairs," is properly understood. 



Th e Sierra Madre of New Mexico. 135 

The frequent revolutions, changes of government, and 
civil wars, which have characterized the Mexican repubhc 
for the last forty years, have made themselves felt in the 
frontier states of Chihuahua and Sonora disastrously only 
in so far as they caused these states to be left without 
sufficient military protection against the hostile Apaches, 
otherwise they have not suffered from the "legerdemains" 
of the ambitious political and military chiefs who so fre- 
quently usurped the supreme power of the republic. In 
fact, these two statQ§ are virtually almost independent 
from Mexico, and their inhabitants trouble themselves 
very little about what is going on in the centre of the re- 
public. 

The State of Chihuahua has also been singularly ex- 
empt from state rebellions and intestine wars; and al- 
though there have been "pronunciamentos" which caused 
sudden changes in her government, still the people al- 
ways had the good sense to steer clear of such revolu- 
tions as would cause stagnation of trade and lead to 
bloodshed. In the sanguinary v/ar which has afflicted 
Mexico during the last five years, and which has struck 
at the root of all revolutions to render them difficult for 
the future, Chihuahua has escaped almost entirely. Of 
late years the Chihuahuenses have done much toward 
the progress of their very fine state; and if there be any 
body of Mexicans who show themselves superior to fate, 
and may, without much foreign help, rebuild their fallen 
fortunes, they are surely in the State of Chihuahua, al- 
though the general poverty of the people may render it 
a very slow process. It has already been said that this 
state, with the rest of Northern Mexico, has suffered 
greatly from the devastations of the Apaches ; and al- 
though the agricultural and bucolic interests sufiered 
most, and the great number of magnificent grazing es- 
tates have been more or less ruined, the people have of 



136 Arizona and Bonora. 

late years persecuted the savages so perseveringly and 
successfully that the latter have withdrawn, and confined 
their marauding expeditions to Sonora, Arizona, and New 
Mexico. It is now very rarely indeed that Apache dep- 
redations are heard of in Chihuahua, and consequently 
many deserted hamlets and estates have been and are 
being reoccupied. 

The State of Sonora has suffered more, having had sev- 
eral intestine wars, occasional rebellious of the half-civil- 
ized Indian tribes that inhabit it, and being still overrun 
by the Apaches. The greater part of the Sierra Madre 
portion of Sonora has, however, by means of its natural 
inaccessible character, been exempt from the hostilities 
of the Apaches, and has also escaped from the direct re- 
sults of civil wars. As the Indians have always been 
worsted in Sonora, and the people, Creoles as Avell as abo- 
riginals, are heartily sick and tired of revolutions, it is to 
be hoped, and indeed most probable, that in future the 
energies of the people will be directed into more produc- 
tive channels, and that the present reign of peace will be 
durable, and conducive to the j^rosperity of this naturally 
rich state. 

The inducements to mining enterprises, which are ap- 
plicable to all parts of Chihuahua, Sonora, and Sinaloa, 
are, good mines, liberal mining laws, cheap labor, and a 
fine, salubrious climate ; to which may be added the fa- 
vorable disposition of the governors of these states, who 
are anxious to attract foreign capitalists to their country, 
and will concede to such as many privileges as can rea- 
sonably be looked for. The good sense of the different 
state governments, political parties, and even half- civil- 
ized Indian tribes, in drawing a distinction between na- 
tives and foreigners, and not troubling the latter while 
they keep aloof from the political quarrels of the former, 
is most praiseworthy, and affords a greater security than 



The Sierra Madre of Ne\o Mexico. 137 

the best written laws alone could guarantee to foreign 
residents. In all other resj)ects the inducements difter 
with the nature of the res23ective veins and their local- 
ities. While those, mines and veins which are situated 
in the lower branches of the Mother Mountains, and iso- 
lated mountain ranges of Sonora, are in general nearer to 
shipping ports, easier of access, and frequently admit of 
wagon transportation, and while most of them are nearer 
to the agricultural districts, and can obtain the necessaries 
of life more readily and much cheaper, they are generally 
entirely deficient in water power and suitable timber for 
building purposes and machinery, and, with the excep- 
tion of those of Alamos, more or less exposed to the dep- 
redations and hostilities of the Apaches. Those mines 
of Sonora and Chihuahua which are situated in the Sier- 
ra Madre have the inestimable advantages of abundance 
of water and frequent possible application of water pow- 
er, any amount of pine and oak timber, pasture in abund- 
ance the year round, and natural defenses that in them- 
selves have proved a barrier against revolutionary bands, 
and in most parts, also, against the incursions of the 
Apaches; but they admit no transportation except on 
mule-back, and are more distant fron the salt mines and 
agricultural districts than those of the lowlands. Some 
parts of the Mother Mountains of Chihuahua, however, 
are close to an extensive agricultural district, where jDrod- 
uce may be obtained for next to nothing. As regards 
the agricultural and pastoral resources of the here men- 
tioned states, they are quite sufiScient for the demand 
that can ever be made upon them, for they admit of great 
extension, if such should become necessary in the course 
of time. 

The value of the auriferous ores of that section of Mex- 
ico varies as much as in the quartz mines of California, 
Avhile the capricious dissemination of gold through its 



138 Arizona and Sonora. 

gangue renders the working of quartz in the former 
country as precarious as in the latter. But veins of sil- 
ver ore are not capricious, and may be worked for centu- 
ries with a sure prospect of a constant yield. In regard 
to the richness and value of the argentiferous ores, they 
differ, of course, in different veins. It has been asserted, 
however, by most intelligent and practical foreign miners, 
personally well acquainted Avith Washoe and Northern 
Mexico, " tliat^ as a general ride^ the mines and veins of 
the latter greatly surpass those of the former^ and^ taking 
every thing else into consideration^ the inducements are 
Qniich in favor of the Sierra Madre of Mexico^'' There 
is an indefinite quantity of mines, the ores of which pay 
from $50 to $300 per ton ; and this asserted estimate is 
not based on those worthless tests, " assays of isolated 
pieces of rock," but founded on the known proceeds 
which tlie reduced ores of the mines have yielded for 
years. In rich stretches of the vein, and when the latter 
is in " bonanza," the ores of many mines have frequently 
yielded thousands of dollars per ton. 

There still remains to consider the acquisition of mines 
and veins, on which a v/ord of advice may not be amiss. 
In a country like ISTorthern Mexico, groaning under the 
weight of its metallic wealth, and abounding in mines 
more or less developed, there would appear to be no dif- 
ficulty about their acquisition. But to secure a valuable 
mine, and at the same time to make a good investment, 
requires more than the mere possession of a long purse : 
it requires experience in mining matters, and necessitates 
an intimate acquaintance with the country and the char- 
acter of the people. 

As it is desirable that in the investments of foreign 
capital there should be no error committed at the outset, 
than which nothing would retard the progress of this 
new mining field more, all persons new to the country 



The Sierra Madre of Ncm 3Je.vlco. 139 

liad better leave all abandoned mines alone, unless direct- 
ed to them by persons long resident in the country, 
whose character and veracity are undoubted, and who, 
after the investigation of all the facts, current accounts, 
and traditions, have full confidence in some abandoned 
mine or other. There are, undoubtedly, many abandoned 
mines that are Avell worthy of attention and outlay of 
capital; but strangers are not likely to know at once 
which of the many deserted mines it will be prudent to 
meddle with. Under the present state of things, the 
safest investments for new-comers will be those mines 
that have bona fide owners ; for, as long as a mine can 
be advantageously Avorked, according to tJie custom of 
the country^ it is hardly ever abandoned altogether. 

But it must not be imagined that such mines can be ob- 
tained for a mere trifle ; for their owners are fully alive to 
the value of their possessions, and as they are already in 
a more or less independent position, and always in ex- 
pectation of a sudden fortune, they are not anxious to 
sell, unless induced by a fair offer. There any many na- 
tive miners of small means willing to cede part of their 
mines on condition that a certain amount of capital be 
invested to promote extensive and more profitable oper- 
ations ; but, unless the owners of mines be foreigners, it 
is not advisable to enter into such arrangements. Far 
better to give a long price for the absolute ownership of 
a mine at once. 

If foreign capitalists desire to make investments in 
Mexican mines, it is necessary that they are liberally in- 
clined ; if so, there are undoubtedly proper persons to 
be found who will help them to good abandoned mines, 
and many owners w^ill be found willing to sell their 
mines. Moneyed Californians may soon find out that 
there are mines in ISTorthern Mexico which will well re- 
pay the reposed trust, and content any reasonable man. 



140 Arizona and Sonora. 



CHAPTER Vm. 

THE MINES OF JESUS MARIA AND SAN JOSE.* 

Condition of Mining in Mexico. — Wealth of the old Spanish Miners. 
— The Faults of their Successors. — A European Superintendent of 
the Jesus Maria Mines. — M. Augustus Remuley. — Abandonment of 
the Mines. — Recent Movements. — Present Prospects. — The Mines 
near Jesus Maria and Jose. — Nuestra Seiiora del Rayo. — Santa Mar- 
garita. — San Jose del Rosario. — Candelaria. — San Rafael. — Haci- 
enda Quiutana. — General Notes. 

As you are personally acquainted with the mining dis- 
trict of " Jesus Maria," you will be able to give much 
valuable information on that head ; and, besides, I think 
that the mining region of the " Sierra Madre" is suffi- 
ciently famed to be known in the United States and in 
Euroi^e. Yet, what must strike persons not personally 
acquainted with Mexico most, and requires exj^lanation, 
is the fact that there are so many good mines in an aban- 
doned state, and that many of those that are known to 
be of inherent richness and steadily worked, do so sel- 
dom enrich their owners. You and I, and many hundred 
others of foreign residents in this country, know the rea- 
son of this; but persons abroad can hardly imagine that 
in a country like this, famed for its mineral wealth, there 
should be so little theoretical and practical knowledge 
of mining — of labor-saving machinery — of practical aj^pli- 
cation of scientific inventions — that, in short, every thing 
should be managed in pretty much the same style as a 
century ago. "Want of enterprise, or of capital in enter- 
prising men ; want of mutual confidence and considera- 

* Notes on the Mineral of Jesus Maria y Jose, etc., by A. W. C. 
Brawns, Esq. 



The Mines of Jesus Maria and San Jose. 141 

tion ; want of security in many localities on one hand, 
and an almost total want of industry and perseverance, 
of prudence, forethought, and economy on the other, are 
among the princij^al reasons of the decay into which this 
most important pursuit has fallen of late. 

The many millions of gold and silver yearly exported 
from this republic attest the abundance and richness of 
the Mexican mines ; yet this product, as you well know, 
is as nothing to what they might produce under a differ- 
ent state of things. Almost all the old Spaniards who 
worked, mines in this country after the discovery of its 
mineral wealth realized fortunes so rapidly and easily 
that their successors thought their fortunes assured by 
merely being the owners of mines, altogether forgetting 
that it was also indispensable to personally look after 
their business, and to practice economy and prudence. 
Their riotous mode of life, their laziness and negligence, 
no mine in the world was rich enough to sustain, and, 
consequently, when a " borasca" made its aj^pearance, ar- 
it will in every mine once in a while, they not only founc 
themselves without the means of indulging in farthei 
luxury and extravagance, but also without the necessary 
funds to pierce through the " poor ores" and. dead rock 
in order to strike the "rich ores" again. Credit under 
such circumstances they could not obtain — for who 
would trust a gambling spendthrift? — consequently, were 
obliged to sell or abandon mines that had produced mil- 
lions. Their successors, no sooner did they strike a "bo- 
nanza" than, either by inclination or seduced by others, 
they commenced to enjoy life in pretty much the same 
manner, which, with very few exceptions, ended in like 
results. " Like master, like man ;" the overseers and 
servants, finding the business left entirely in their own 
hands, soon began to think that a few pounds of ore ev- 
ery day, more or less, made no difference to their masters. 



142 Arizona and Sonora. 

and would never be missed; and, being excellent judges 
of ore, they always selected the very richest for them- 
selves — ore so rich that a few pounds of it often enabled 
them to imitate their master's gambling and carousing 
on a small scale. Yet this working of mines, and living 
in great profusion and pleasurable excitement, in the 
hope of a speedy fortune, was too good to be monopo- 
lized by Mexicans alone. 

The fame of the rich mines had sj^read to Euroj^e, and 
induced men of capital to come out or to send represent- 
atives. The example of one foreigner, Avhose name it 
would be cruel to mention, will exemplify the case of 
many of his class who sunk fortunes in this manner. He 
had been sent out by a joint stock company to insj^ect 
the mines and veins of " Jesus Maria," and to invest a 
considerable capital in some of them, with a view of real- 
izing fifty per cent, per annum on it. Furnished with 
plenty of introductory letters, he no sooner made his ap- 
pearance at this mining town than its elite^ rejoiced to see 
a new face, overwhelmed him with profuse hospitalities, 
shortening the nights, and many of the days too, with 
the excitement of gambling and all sorts of debauchery. 
Pleased and gratified by this warm reception in a strange 
land, he deemed himself in honor bound to show his ap- 
l^reciation by a return of similar hospitalities ; and thus 
dinners, balls, picnics, shooting and fishing parties, with 
bands of music hired for the nonce at a couple of hundred 
dollars, and Champagne at fifty dollars a basket, not to 
mention the other questionable inventions for killing time, 
was the order of the day for six months in succession. 
Being far removed from Europe, it took a long time to 
correspond ; but at last answers arrived from home to 
letters which he had dispatched after his arrival (and 
which had l^een filled with glowing accounts of the wealth 
of the " Jesus Maria mines" and their owners), express- 



Tlte Mines of Jcsiis .i\[<i)'tit and ISan Jose. 143 

iug the hope of soon liearing the result of his investments. 
Brought to liis senses, and overcome with shame at hav- 
ing squandered nearly half of the capital intrusted to his 
care, he bethought himself of some profitable investment, 
and of eschewing his riotous friends. Having purchased 
a good but neglected mine, which required the construc- 
tion of a drain-tunnel, and other expensive w^orks, to be re- 
opened, he went to work in earnest, and soon expended 
the remaining capital in the prosecution of these works, 
without, hoAvever, completing them. After he had duly 
notified his constituents at home that, in order to com- 
plete the commenced works and to work the mine, anoth- 
er large sum w^ould have to be remitted to him, he was 
startled with the orders of the shareholders to abandon 
an enterprise that, from the large outlays already made 
without any tangible results and proofs, promised to be a 
most unprofitable investment. Disgusted, he left for parts 
unknown, a victim to the reckless life in a Mexican min- 
ing town; and since that time foreign capitalists have 
been shy of Jesus Maria mining investments. Yet, had 
he strictly attended to his business, and invested the sub- 
scribed capital entirely in the enterprise, there is no doubt 
that good results would have crowned the undertaking. 

It is but just to give another example attesting the rich- 
ness of a "Jesus Maria" mine — that of Mr. Augustin Re- 
muley, a poor French gentleman, who, in order to better 
his fortune, had been induced to accept the situation of 
adrainistrador of the mine of " Santa Juliana," with an 
annual salary of $480, his board and lodging, and three 
per cent, of the net profits of the mine. He realized in 
one year $3'7,000 of his own, while the fortunate owners 
of this celebrated mine shortly after became bankrupt, 
with a deficit of nearly half a million of dollars, likewise 
victims of extravagance and gambling. 

Is it to be w^ondered at that, under such a regime^ the 



144 Arizona and Sonora. 

pursuit of mining should gradually have fallen into decay 
and general disrepute, and that this most important branch 
of industry should have been languishing of late years for 
want of capital, of credit, and of confidence in it, when 
the apathy and demoralization of the people have had the 
tendency to cause a general retrogression and gradual 
impoverishment of the whole country ? For the last few 
years the mines of " Jesus Maria," like many of those of 
other localities, have either been wholly abandoned, or 
been worked by gambussinos alone, which latter people 
soon render a mine unworkable, and cause its total aban- 
donment. A foreign element is now required to revive 
mining in this country, and to restore it to its former pris- 
tine splendor and productiveness. Several enterprises, 
undertaken of late by foreigners, give cheering hopes, and 
invite imitation, that mining will soon be restored, and 
become again the mainstay of the country. Since the dis- 
covery of the silver mines at Washoe, Nevada Territory, 
United States, the American capitalists have become bet- 
ter acquainted with the profitableness of mining invest- 
ments, and a very great spirit of mining enterprise is now 
manifested by Californians to make investments in this 
country. Purchases of mines have been eflected in this 
and the neighboring state of Sinaloa at very high figures, 
and other conditional purchases have been made by spec- 
ulators, while each vessel of late arrived from San Fran- 
cisco has brought its mining prospectors in great force, 
so that the regeneration of this section of the country 
seems to be near at hand. 

I have been thus prolix on this head, because I think it 
necessary to the object you have in view to show the real 
causes of the many disastrous results of mining invest- 
ments in this country, and to disabuse the public mind 
abroad of the too often predisposed unfavorable opinion 
of the Mexican mines. It was but recently stated by Sir 



The Mines of Jesus Maria and Saii Jose. 145 

Roderick Murcliison, the eminent president of the Royal 
Geograi^hical Society, communicating to the R. G. Society 
the results of the travels of Mr. Charles Savin, F.R.G.S. 
(who, accompanied by an assayer and practical Cornish 
miner, had visited the Sierra Madre in Sinaloa and Chi- 
huahua), " that, with British capital and perseverance, al- 
most all the mines and veins of this part of the world 
would yield good returns;" and the dividends that sev- 
eral foreign companies in this republic have of late been 
paying incontestably show that, with proper management, 
investments in the mines of this country are not only safe, 
but also highly remunerative. And it should also be 
borne in mind that the mines, with but few exceptions, 
may be said to be virgin yet; for works to the depth of a 
hundred yards or so are but surface works, and offer, for 
centuries yet to come, profitable employment to people 
that may be counted by millions. 

I now proceed to give a detailed description of the dif- 
ferent mines, and the ore-reducing establishment, owned 
by Messrs. Gutierrez, Andreo, and Brawns, in the imme- 
diate neighborhood of the mining town of Jesus Maria 
and Jose, in the State of Chihuahua, Republic of Mexico.* 

I. N'uestra Senora del Mayo. — 'This mine was discov- 
ered shortly after the discovery of the mine of "Jesus 
Maria," from w^hich the mining town obtained its name, 
in the year 1823, and is situated in the western range of 
mountains of the Creek (arroyo) of Jesus Maria, at a dis- 
tance of about half a mile from the town. The "Rayo" 
was discovered at the same time as the celebrated " Santa 
Juliana" Mine, from Avhich it is about 500 varas distant. 
Its first owners were Messrs. Thomas Suza and Thomas 
Rivera, who worked it successfully, wuth good results in 

* These notes are introduced as the most extended and accurate in 
reference to the Sierra Madre mines, the characteristic being the same 
in Sonora and Chihuahua. — S. M. 

G 



146 Arizo7ia and Sonora. 

gold and silver, according to the accounts of trustworthy- 
persons still living at Jesus Maria, and abandoned it on 
the discovery of the " bonanza" (extremely rich ores) in 
the " Santa Juliana" Mine, of which they were part own- 
ers. This happened in the year 1826. Afterward Messrs. 
Siqueiros Brothers worked the mine, but abandoned it 
later on account of suffocation, caused by their having 
w^orked the shafts and drifts in a very narrow and dis- 
orderly style. For about twenty-five years the *' Rayo" 
remained abandoned, being only occasionally worked by 
*' gambussinos." These are poor, petty miners, who work 
without license and without order; break out ore here 
and there, wherever most handy and easy, and, to save 
labor and time (they doing all the work personally), gen- 
erally throw the offal ores and dead rock in the shafts and 
drifts not occupied by them ; so that, when a. mine once 
is squatted upon by these petty miners, it is sure soon to 
be rendered unfit for working, requiring a large expendi- 
ture of labor and money to reopen it. In consequence, 
they soon brought the mine into an unworkable state, and 
were compelled to abandon it. 

In the year 1850, Mr. J. C. Henriquez, knowing the 
mine to have been left in good ores, " denounced" it with 
a view to its restoration and possession, and at the pres- 
ent moment (month of May, 1861) the entire mine is 
cleaned and restored. In this undertaking over $5000 
have been expended. Since, the mine has been purchased 
by Mr. Ramon Andreu ; he is occupying twenty miners 
per day, although there is room and occasion to occupy 
from 140 to 150 operatives with ease and profit. 

The extent of possession of the " Rayo" Mine is 700 
varas; the lowest depth as yet reached about seventy 
varas vertically, the vein having an inclination of from 
15° to 20°, and running from east to west. The works 
of the mine are as follows : above there is a drift-shaft 



The Mines of Jesus Maria and San Jose. 147 

(tajo) forty varas deep, twenty-five varas long, and five 
varas wide in firm walls, whence two shafts have been 
sunk, each fifteen varas deep, six varas long, and three 
and a half varas wide, leaving a pillar fourteen by fifteen 
varas between. From thence two other shafts of the 
same dimensions have been sunk, one of Avhich is at pres- 
ent eleven, and the other ten varas deep. The intention 
is from thence to run a large drift, in order to give more 
room for operatives to be employed. The vein, in all its 
parts, in the sides of the drifts and shafts, presents ores 
of the same class as the accompanying samples. In or- 
der to ventilate the mine, it has been necessary to lessen 
the size of the pillars and to widen the walls, in the do- 
ing of which a new vein of auriferous and argentiferous 
quartz has been met with, of which the samj^le, marked 
" El Rayo," is a fair specimen. This vein is of a width 
of two inches, and about half a vara from the other upper 
vein, so that all the different veins can be worked togeth- 
er in one and the same shaft. Sample No. 1, marked 
" lustra. Sra. del Rayo," is from this upper vein, and like- 
wise two inches thick ; No. 2 is from the middle vein, 
and nine inches thick; No. 3 is from the lower vein, 
which is from seven to ten inches in thickness. As al- 
ready said, the uppermost one is divided by dead rock 
half a vara thick from No. 1, and the dead rock between 
No. 1 and 2 and between No. 2 and 3 is from four to five 
inches thick. These four distinct veins are running par- 
allel to each other. It is the general opinion of practical 
miners that these different veins at a greater depth will 
unite into one solid body or vein of from sixteen to eight- 
een inches in thickness. The ley of the ores of No. 1, 2, 
and 3, according to the last operations made in this last 
month of May in the common Mexico mode of " benefi- 
cio" (reduction), was twenty -four ounces of auriferous 
silver per mule-load of 300 lbs. = 160 ounces per ton of 



148 Arizojia and Sonora. 

2000 lbs. The intrinsic value of the silver of the Rayo 
Mine, according to the statement of the government as- 
sayer of the district Rayon, was lid. gr. 2 silver, 100 gr. 
gold, realizing $11 per marc at Jesus Maria prices. The 
ore, sample marked "El Rayo," discovered in widening 
the walls, when first discovered at the end of last year, 
contained more silver than gold, yielding at the rate of 
$1500 silver and $100 gold per carga of 300 lbs. ; after- 
ward it changed more into gold, like the sample marked 
" El Rayo," of which fourteen pounds produced |800 in 
gold, which is at the rate of more than $100,000 per ton 
of 2000 lbs. Later it changed again into its former state, 
as when first met with, in which it is at the present mo- 
ment. All the indications are that the present is its nor- 
mal state, and that more or less rich pockets of gold will 
be found at uncertain distances. The different ores of 
the Rayo Mine are docile in their reduction, undergoing 
the common Spanish amalgamation process. The Rayo 
Mine offers many advantages: being near the top of a 
mountain range, from 300 to 400 varas high above the 
creek, there is no probability of its working being inter- 
fered with by water until the level of the creek has been 
reached, which will necessarily take many years ; while 
in case of suffocation, or for an easier mode of extracting 
the ores, tunnels could with facility be run into the 
mountain at a cost of from $5000 to $6000. The en- 
trance of the mine being on an almost perpendicular side 
of the mountain, slides could easily be erected — timber 
being abundant, and at three miles' distance from it — so 
that the ore and dead rock would be placed at the foot 
of the mountain, alongside of the creek, whence it is hard- 
ly half a mile to the hacienda " Quintana." 

II. Santa 3Iargarita. — This 'mine is situated at the 
Rosario, about three miles distant from Jesus Maria, and 
was formerly worked by Messrs. Gutierrez, Guerena & Co. 



The Mines of Jesus Maria and San Jose. 149 

The vein is steep, slanting from one half to one vara wide, 
its gangue being lime-si)ath, Avith virgin gold of 960 m. 
ley per ton. The accompanying samj^le ores are fair 
average ore. The vein runs from east to west, 2° in- 
clined north, and the extent of its possession is eight 
hundred varas. The mine is at present full of water, on 
account of the works having been suspended during the 
last two years, but can be drained with a " malacatc" 
(large windlass and buckets moved by horse power) in 
about a week, as has been done on several previous occa- 
sions, when the working of the mine had been temj^orari- 
ly suspended. Once drained, and working only in day- 
time, the water which collects during the night is ex- 
tracted in the morning in the course of an hour or two. 

There are three shafts, the deepest seventy-one varas 
deep, a connection drift of fifteen varas between two of 
them, and another drift fifty varas long ; besides these, an 
interior drain drift has been commenced, which lacks but 
from fifteen to twenty varas to reach the surface. This 
drift is following the course of the vein. The mine 
drained and in its present state, without commencing the 
construction of any new shafts and drifts, there is room 
to employ at once sixteen miners. The best class ore ex- 
tracted during the week has always paid the current ex- 
i:)enses, and frequently more; thus the second class ore 
and the " brosa" (common ore) may be said to constitute 
the profit. The common ore (brosa) has always paid 
half an ounce per load of 300 lbs. =$72 per ton of 2000 
lbs. ; the second class ore up to three marcs per arroba 
of 25 lbs. = '$25,9G0 per ton; and the best ore up to eight 
marcs per 25 lbs. arroba= $71,680 per ton of 2000 lbs., 
according to the prices obtained for this gold at Jesus 
Maria, Avhere it sells at from $12 to $14 per ounce, though 
worth more. 

The working of "Santa Margarita" has several times 



150 Arizona and Sonora. 

been suspended and recommenced ; it was last suspended 
two years ago. The only cause of these suspensions has 
been the thieving propensity of the mining population of 
this country, and the great difficulty of obtaining trust- 
worthy people to oversee the operatives and servants; 
this cause, which is the most serious drawback to the 
successful working of very rich veins in this country by 
small capitalists, would, however, prove no hinderance to 
a company of large means, that can afford to import men 
as overseers from abroad, or that, by working on a large 
scale, can afford to offer such salaries to their emjDloyes 
as would induce young Mexicans of good and respectable 
character and connections to accept such employ. 

The improvements belonging to the " Santa Margarita" 
Mine consist of one stone building of two rooms and ve- 
randa, in order, and close to the entrance of the mine, and 
a " malacate" (large horse windlass), which, together with 
its roof and foundation wall, requires some repairs if its 
use should be continued, though it would be better to sub- 
stitute a force-pump and steam-engine for the extraction 
of the ores and water, as the latter, at a greater depth, 
will undoubtedly increase, the Avorks of the mine being 
already below the level of the water of the adjoining 
brook. An outlay of from |4000 to $5000 would place 
this mine in working condition, if the malacate use should 
be continued ; with force-pump and engine a much larger 
capital would be required. At a distance of about half a 
mile from this mine there is a creek that has sufficient 
water to drive machinery by means of a turbine, if it 
should be desirable to reduce the ores near to the mine, 
instead of taking them on mule-back (the only practicable 
mode of transportation) to Jesus Maria, a distance of 
three miles. Water, wood, timber, and grass are plentiful 
and close to the mine ; the adjoining and surrounding 
lands belong to the state, and are open to denouncement, 
consequently can be easily and cheaDly obtained. 



The Mines of Jesus Maria arid Saii Jose. 151 

III. San Jose del Hosario. — This gold mine is adjoin- 
ing the Santa Margarita Mine, and by many supposed to 
be the same vein. The vein is ahnost perj^endicular, and 
from half to one vara wide. There are several shafts and 
drifts, the deepest about sixty varas deep, but these are 
mostly filled up with rubbish, offal ore, dead rock, and rain 
water. It has two drain tunnels, and admits of the for- 
mation of others, the construction of one of which would 
not exceed the sum of 16000 expenses. The best and sec- 
ond class ore pays a similar ley as that of " Santa Marga- 
rita," while the broza (common and inferior ley) pays from 
three to four dollars per load of 300 lbs., and the " polvil- 
los" (heavy residue of the ground and washed ore) pays 
six ounces " zaroche," at $Q the ounce, to the twenty-five 
pound arroba. (Zaroche is the Mexican name for gold of 
low color, containing silver.) In the deepest shaft silver- 
bearing ore has already been met with, an indication that 
this ore, like most of the auriferous ores of this region, 
will change into silver wdien a greater depth has been 
reached. The proceeds of this mine obtained by the first 
owners were so great, that once one load of three hundred 
pounds realized $10,000. 

The mine, discovered in the beginning of this century, 
was first worked by Messrs. Zuza and Lumbier ; and it is 
but just to mention that the heaviest capital of the State 
of Chihuahua, which is that of Mr. Jose Cordero, son-in- 
law of the late Mr. Zuza, and which amounts to several 
millions, owes its origin to this mine. Later, the mine 
has been worked by Mr. Ferdinand Altario. The princi- 
pal reasons of its having been abandoned were the dim- 
inution of the ley ; the depth of the mine, which, although 
not considerable, proved an impediment to men defi- 
cient in all knowledge of useful and scientific contrivan- 
ces, and far removed from all necessary resources; but 
principally the discovery of the neighboring "Santa Mar- 



152 Arizona and Sonora. 

garita" vein with its magnificent ores, and the discovery 
of the "bonanza" (extremely rich ores) in the "Santa Ju- 
liana" Mine in 1824 and 1825. Since that time the mine 
has been occasionally worked by gambussinos, who, ac- 
cording to their lazy and negligent way of working, soon 
filled up the mine with dead rock, which they were too 
indolent to carry out. The mine, it is asserted by all who 
know it, is still in good ore, and can be drained and 
cleaned with a malacate in the course of a month or two, 
employing from ten to twelve men ; once free and clean, 
it will admit of a good number of miners being advanta- 
geously employed. The extent of possession of San Jose 
del Rosario is 800 varas. There are no improvements 
belonging to the mine; otherwise it possesses the same 
local advantages as the Santa Margarita Mine. !N'o sam- 
ples. 

ly. Candelaria. — This mine is situated about one and 
a half or two miles from the town of Jesus Mraia; the 
vein is almost perpendicular, and from one to one and a 
half feet wide! The deepest shaft is about ninety varas. 
The vein has been steadily and gradually increasing, a sure 
indication of its present character. The ore is very hard, 
but docile in the amalgamation process. The lowest yield 
has never been less than $48 in gold and silver per load 
of 300 lbs.=r|320 per ton of 2000 lbs., though it is gener- 
ally much more, some ore having assayed as high as $3243 
per ton of 2000 lbs. The gold of this mine sells at Jesus 
Maria at $10 the ounce. The samples of ore marked 
" Candelaria, Jesus Maria," are good class ore ; the others, 
Nos. 4 and 5, common ore (broza). In the bottom of the 
mine there is a drift in ore twenty varas long, where 
twenty-five miners can easily work at one and the same 
time, thus allowing seventy-five miners to be employed 
during the twenty-four hours, without opening new shafts 
and drifts. 



The Mines of Jesus Maria and jSa^i Jose. 153 

Candelaria was last worked by Mr. J. Quintana, who 
suspended the working of it some years ago while erect- 
ing machinery for the reduction of ores. In this he ex- 
13ended his capital, and when ready to recommence oper- 
ations in tlie mine, ho found that the gambussinos, having 
undermined the foundation walls of the malacatein order 
to get at the offal ore of the " terrero," had destroyed the 
strength and safety of it, and that it consequently was risk- 
ing the lives of servants and animals to make use of it 
without rebuilding it. Indeed, shortly after the whole 
concern came down from the effects of a rain-storm. Be- 
ing without the necessary resources to defray its recon- 
struction, and unwilling to involve himself in debt, the 
mining operations of Candelaria remained suspended, and 
as Mr. Quintana very shortly after died, the mine was 
abandoned, and has remained in that state for the last few 
years, for the want of men of enterprise and capital. The 
mine, being on the top of a mountain range some four 
hundred varas high above the creek, has but little inher- 
ent water as yet, but is full of rain water ; it admits of 
drain tunnels being made, which may cost from $6000 to 
$10,000, and requires the reconstruction of a foundation 
wall for a malacate, which, together with the clearing of 
the mine, would probably cost some $5000. The posses- 
sion contains some eight hundred varas. 

V. /San Rafael. — This mine is distant three quarters 
of a mile from the town of Jesus Maria, and was Avorked 
first after its discovery by Messrs. Andrew Reducich and 
Joseph Lopez until the year 1839, when the working was 
suspended in consequence of the death of the former. 
Some years later the mine passed into the possession of 
Messrs. R. Jaquez, I. Parada, and E. Yidal, who worked 
it until 1861, Avhen Mr. Ramon Andreu rented the mine 
for two years ; the latter stopped working it on accoimt 
of some difficulties he had with the owners. The vein is 

G2 



154 Arizo9ia and tionora. 

nearly perpendicular, running from south to north, with 
an inclination of from 15° to 20° east, and is about one and 
a half feet wide on the average. In the bottom of the 
lowest shaft, which is about fifty-five to sixty varas deep, 
two drifts have been commenced ; in one of them the vein 
is scattered, but in the other compact, with very fair in- 
dications of its changing into a large vein. Since Mr. 
Andreu abandoned the working of the mine, the gambus- 
sinos have destroyed and filled up with rubbish the shafts 
from the main entrance to a depth of from twenty to 
twenty-five varas, where there is the first drift, whence 
two other shafts of from thirty to thirty-five varas depth, 
with their respective drifts, have not been touched by the 
" gambussiuos," on account of having filled with rain 
water shortly after the suspension of the work by Mr. 
Andreu. 

From the entrance of the mine to within five varas of 
the lowest depth as yet reached, the vein has been more 
or less scattered, not having any decided compactness ; 
but in the last shaft, sunk from the bottom drift, the vein 
has become compact. There are no sample ores extant, 
and can not be obtained without first cleaning the mine ; 
but the gold is soft, and docile in the amalgamation pro- 
cess ; the lowest ley has never been less than one marc per 
load of 300 lbs. ; the " polvillos" paying from two to three 
marcs silver per 25 lbs. arroba, consequently the lowest 
ley has never been less than $110 per ton of 2000 lbs. at 
the price of silver at Jesus Maria, and this silver, being 
auriferous, there reahzed $16 per marc. The mine "San 
Rafael" has always paid a profit ; it can be drained of the 
rain water in the Mexican fashion, with common hand- 
pumps ; but if a malacate should be used the shafts would 
require straightening, as the mine has been worked in the 
"patio y patillo" fashion. The mine is on the top of the 
western range of mountains, some four hundred varas 



1 li e 3Ibies of Jesus Maria and San Jose. 155 

liigb, and admits tlie construction of drain tunnels, which 
would have to be somewhere about one hundred and fifty 
varas in length, and such tunnel in all probability, nay, 
certainly, would cross other veins running in the same di- 
rection, and which, where worked, have given very good 
results. The extent of possession of " San Rafael" is like- 
wise eight hundred varas. 

YI. Hacienda Quintana. — This establishment for the 
reduction and amalgamation of ores is situated in the 
centre of the mining town Jesus Maria, and consists of 
three stamps and eight arrastras, all the machinery of 
which is moved by an overshot wheel thirty-three feet in 
diameter, and reduces three and a half tons of ore per 
twenty-four hours. It contains all the required adjuncts, 
is in good order and in daily use, and is fed by the creek 
of Jesus Maria, Avhich generally has water enough for 
the use of machinery in the different establishments ten 
months in the year, and in many years all the year round. 

General Kotes. — The mining town of Jesus Maria, sit- 
uated in the Sierra Madre, at a distance of about 250 miles 
from the ports of Agiabampo and Guaymas, on the Gulf 
of California, and about 200 miles from the city of Chi- 
huahua, has never been affected by the several revolu- 
tions which have occurred in the states of Chihuahua and 
Sonora, and which in the former state are of a rather in- 
nocent nature ; nor is this region exposed to the depre- 
dations of the Camanche and Apache Indians, who infest 
other parts of the two mentioned states ; it offers, there- 
fore, by its favored situation in the heart of lofty mount- 
ain ranges, security to mining enterprise. The neighbor- 
hood of Jesus Maria is fixmous for the abundance and 
richness of its metallic veins. Most of them, although 
they have been more or less worked, may be said to be 
virgin yet, hardly having been worked to a greater depth 
than 1 00 varas at most. The only exception to this is the 



156 Arizona and Sonora. 

mine of Santa Juliana, which has been worked to a depth 
of 400 varas, and been abandoned on account of its abund- 
ance of water. Almost all the ores of this region, al- 
though in most of them silver forms the principal ingre- 
dient, are more or less auriferous, so that its silver com- 
mands a higher market value than usual. The ores are 
likewise docile in their reduction, and undergo the amal- 
gamation process. 

The town of Jesus Maria is some 6000 feet above the 
sea, and enjoys a temperate, delightful, and healthy cli- 
mate ; its population is estimated at 3000. Being not far 
removed — fifty to a hundred miles — from the different 
agricultural villages of the district of Concepcion, provi- 
sions are much cheaper in this than in most other mining 
towns, and owing to the abundance of mines formerly ex- 
tensively worked, there is a numerous body of operatives 
to facilitate the undertaking of extensive enterprises. 
Timber and fuel are abundant, and at no great distance 
from town — the former mostly pine and oak ; the creek of 
Jesus Maria having sufficient water for the nse of ma- 
chinery ten months in the year, and often the whole year 
round, although all the available spots for the application 
of water power in the immediate neighborhood are already 
private property, and built up with haciendas. Some of 
these, however, could be purchased at reasonable prices, 
as, for instance, the haciendas "Guadalupe" and "Car- 
men," both together having nine stamps and twenty ar- 
rastras, formerly belonging to Messrs. Lopez and Yalois. 

Common miners earn $1 per task, working overseers 
from $10 to $12 per week, and all other servants four 
reals — two shillings sterling per day — payable half in 
goods, half in money. Salt is generally worth $12 per 
fanega of 300 lbs. ; quicksilver from $45 to $50 per flask 
of '75 lbs. ; maize, $1 75 to $2 25 the fanega of 220 lbs. ; 
wheat, $3 the fanega; beeves, from $10 to $20 per head. 



The Mines of Jesus Maria and San Jose. 157 

averaging from 350 to 500 lbs. gross weight; grass fod- 
der, 50 cts. per load of 225 lbs. Freight from Agiabam- 
po to Jesus Maria, $12 to $14 per mule-load of 300 lbs. 
There is an *' oficina de quintar" (metal stamp and assay 
office) established by government at Jesus Maria, where 
gold and silver receives the stamp of currency. Although 
for the last years no mine has been regularhj worked, in 
this stamp and assay office have been monthly stamped 
above $11,500 for the last three years, the produce of the 
work of " gambussinos ;" and when it is taken into con- 
sideration that at least one third of the gold and silver 
of the country never receives the stamp, an annual pro- 
duction of $150,000 to $200,000 by petty miners alone 
should go far to prove the richness of the neglected mines 
of this district or town of Jesus Maria ; for if the worst 
mining style, or no style at all, can produce such a result, 
what may not well-directed energy and capital effect in 
this yet virgin field ? 



158 Arizona and Sonora. 



CHAPTER IX. 

mNERALOGICAL SKETCH OF ARIZONA.* 

Limits of Arizona. — Topography. — Geological Structure. — Character 
of the Vegetation. — The Plains. — The Table-lands. — Eivers, Fount- 
ains, and Wells. — Arable and grazing Land. — Part of the great 
Mineral Region. — The Heintzelman Mine. — Character of the Ores. 
— Their Order of Deposit. — Processes of Reduction. — Defects in the 
Processes. — Wages and other Expenses. — Results, actual and pros- 
pective. — The Plain of Arivaca. — Santa Rita Mines. — Cahuabi 
Mines. — The San Pedro Mines. — Lead Mines. — The Mowiy Silver 
Mines. — Various Mines and Ores. — Plancha de la Plata. — General 
Conclusions. 

Arizoxa proper, or the Gadsden Purchase, is that part 
of our frontier which has the Rio Grande and the Colo- 
rado Rivers for its eastern and western, and the Gila 
River and Mexican boundary-line for its northern and 
southern limits. It thus extends over both slopes of the 
Sierra Madre, w^hich here loses its continuous character, 
giving rise to almost unconnected mountain groups. It 
is also traversed from N.W. to S.E. by granitic sierras 
seldom over seventy to ninety miles in length, and distant 
from each other from twenty to forty miles. This con- 
figuration gives rise to a most remarkable occurrence of 
parallelism. 

The intervals between these ranges are plains, having 
a gradual descent from the sierras on either side. In the 
western part of the Territory, where but little rain falls, 

* Mlneralogical Sketch of the Silver Mines of Arizona, read before 
the California Academy of Natural Sciences, August 5, 1861, by R. 
PuMPELLY, Esq., Metallurgist and Mining Engineer, Graduate of the 
Mining College at Freiberg, etc., etc. Published in the Proceedings 
of the Academy, vol. ii., 18G2. 



Mineralogical Sketch of Arizona. 159 

water-courses arc very rare, and the surface of these tracts 
is almost unbroken ; but in the central portion, near the 
laro-er mountains, they present the appearance of exten- 
sive valleys, and are cut np by river beds and frequent 
tributary caiions. These plains are all connected, and 
form members of the immense quaternary deposits, ex- 
tending from the Gulf of California eastward. 

The quaternary formation is stratified, and composed 
of both rounded and angular rocks, with pebbles and 
sand, the detritus of the neighboring mountains and the 
underlying formations. A gradual and regular descent 
of the surfixce of the whole quaternary area toward the 
Gulf of California and the Colorado River is perceptible, 
showing that there has been a gradual elevation extend- 
ing over a large area, and probably during a long lapse 
of time. That this upheaval is of very recent date is 
proven by the presence of existing species of marine 
shells scattered over the surfice. 

As I have already said, the majority of the mountain 
ranges are granitic, but we find in many places, and es- 
pecially those where the parallelism is disturbed, exten- 
sive representations of other formations. Usually, out- 
croppings of gneiss, micaceous, talcose, and clay slates are 
observable, underlying the quaternary at the base of the 
granitic ranges. In many places the plains consist entire- 
ly of the detritus of these rocks, showing that they ex- 
tend from mountain to momitain. Toward the Gulf of 
California these slates are accompanied by metamorphic 
limestone, and often appear forming independent ridges, 
or inclined against the higher granite hills. They form 
the gold region of Sonora, and are probably of the same 
age as the similar formatio'ns of California, of which, in- 
deed, they seem to be the continuation. We find them 
rising out of the desert, at intervals, from Sonora to the 
Gila River and the Colorado, and again underlying the 



160 Arizona and Bonora. 

tertiary on the western skirt of the Colorado desert, and 
at various points in Southern California. 

Near the coast, and traversed by the boundary-line, is 
a very interesting volcanic formation. The country is 
studded over with volcanic cones, some containing cra- 
ters ; immense streams of lava cross the desert, or cover, 
as with a mantle, high granite hills. 

The next formation of importance is that of the strati- 
fied conglomerates. These occur in strata of very varia- 
ble thickness and texture, but all are composed for the 
most part of fragments of quartziferous porphyry, ce- 
mented by a feldspathic mass, also quartziferous. This 
formation is traversed by intrusive dikes of a porphyry 
of a similar character to many of the fragments inclosed 
in the conglomerates. 

There is also a great variety of porphyries, both quartz- 
iferous and free from quarts, and these are the rocks 
which for the most part stand in the closest connection 
with the veins of the country. Many of these porphyries 
appear to be the result of metamorphic action in sedi- 
mentary rocks, but others have every characteristic of an 
eruptive origin. 

Lastly, dikes of a trachytic porphyry and of a cellular 
black rock, usually in connection with a reddish wacke 
and a sandstone, are observable at various points through 
the country. 

Climatic influences have given the country a marked 
and peculiar character of vegetation. Toward the coast 
the plains are barren and arid deserts, and the traveler 
may ride hundreds of miles without seeing other plants 
than dry and thorny cacti and scattered bushes of grease- 
wood. The granite mountains bordering these deserts 
are even more barren. Not a tree, nor even a cactus, 
can be seen on their sides. They tower high above the 
plains, great masses of white, reflecting the rays of the 



Mineralogical Sketch of Arizona. 161 

sun with dazzling brilliancy. The only water to be found 
over an area of many thousand miles is at a few points in 
the mountains, where the rains have collected in natural 
tanks sufficient to last for a few months. During the 
rainy season, which often nearly fails, shallow pools are 
formed in slight depressions on the surface, but a few 
days' sun is sufficient to exhaust these sources. 

Farther from the coast the plains begin to show more 
vegetation; gradually appear the palo verde, the mes- 
quit, and a greater variety of cacti, and on the hills scat- 
tered saguaras {Cereits gigaoiteus) ; until, in the eastern 
portion of the Paj^agoria, the country is more thickly cov- 
ered with a lowgroAvth of mesquit and palo verde brush, 
above which looms a perfect forest of the columnar sa- 
guara. 

East of the Baboquiveri range the character of the 
country changes; the plains are cut in the direction of 
the longer axis by deep valleys, receiving tributary ca- 
ilons from the mountains on either side, and all that re- 
mains to show their original character are the cut -up 
mesas or table-lands, lying between the river and the si- 
erras. These m^sas retain, indeed, much of the desert 
appearance, but they are clothed with bunch and gram- 
ma grass, and scattered mesquit bushes. Many of the 
valleys have an extensive growth of mesquit, and along 
the river beds in the neighborhood of hidden or running 
water grow large cottonwood trees, and in some places 
fine ash timber. On the hill-sides, above the level of the 
mesas, are scattered the live oak of the country, the trees 
varying from twelve to twenty-five feet in height, giving 
the country the appearance of an old orchard. As we 
ascend the mountains, the oaks are mingled with the ce- 
dar, until, at an elevation of about GOOO feet above the 
level of the sea, the pine region commences. 

Owing to the peculiar structure of the river beds. 



1G2 Arizona and tSo nova. 

which run through loose quaternary deposits, the water 
falHng during the rainy season soon sinks out of sight 
and follows its course underground, appearing only where 
the underlying older formations rise, or where the valley 
is crossed by a dike, in either case natural dams being 
formed. These occurrences are sometimes of sufficient 
extent to form running streams for several miles, although 
usually either only a spring is formed, or more frequently 
water is obtained by digging. 

These valleys of Central Arizona, as well as the mesas 
and hill-sides, are covered with an abundant growth of 
different grasses, forming extensive tracts of grazing 
country. There are not many localities suitable for cul- 
tivation, these being confined to such places as have run- 
ning water for a considerable distance, which can be con- 
ducted in canals for irrigation. 

Arizona forms a link in the great chain of mining re- 
gions that stretches along the w^estern side of the conti- 
nent. Though but a small portion of the country has 
been explored, yet between the Rio Grande and the Col- 
orado numerous districts of great mineral w^ealth have 
been discovered, and on some of them more or less labor 
expended. The Mexicans have, at various times since 
the middle of the last century, commenced workings on 
a great number of veins, but, owing to the continued in- 
roads of the Apaches, but little "svas accomplished by 
them. 

After the conclusion of the Gadsden treaty, Messrs. 
Poston and Ehrenberg, with a small party, entered the 
country, and, after prospecting a large number of locali- 
ties, found the Heintzelman vein. The results of an ex- 
amination of this proved so satisfactory, that considerable 
attention was drawn toward that part of New Mexico. 
Joint- stock companies, with little ready capital and im- 
mense expectations, were formed. Speculators bought in 



Mineralogical Sketch of Arizona. 163 

stock for ten per cent, of its nominal value, and sold out 
at from fifty per cent, to ninety per cent, to tradesmen 
and widows, too jDOor to meet assessments when means 
for working were absolutely necessary. Men -were put 
in charge who had never seen a mine, and usually with 
no professional assistance. The results of enterprises con- 
ducted in a similar manner are well known. Between 
the absence of available funds on the one hand, and of 
protection to life and property on the other, enterprise 
was already beginning to stagnate, when the withdrawal 
of the troops made the abandonment of the country ab- 
solutely necessary. 

The most important of the mines already known and 
worked is the Ileintzelman, or Ceii'O Colorado^ belonging 
to the Sonora Mining Company. It is situated west of 
Tubac, about twenty-four miles by road. The vein runs 
north and south, has a nearly vertical dip, and is inclosed 
in a brown porphyry, free from quartz, and containing ill- 
defined crystals of feldspar. The thickness of the lode is 
from twelve to twenty inches. A vertical main shaft has 
been commenced, with the expectation of intersecting the 
vein at a depth of 200 feet, but it is only completed to 
about 120 feet. This shaft communicates by cross-cuts, 
at 60 and 100 feet, wdth two galleries. 

The ore is separated by hand into two classes, rendered 
necessary by the difference in their chemical character 
and in their richness in silver. The first class consists of 
the more massive and richer ore, composed of Stromey- 
erite, tetrahedrite, blende, and galena, with native silver ; 
the gangue is quartz, with some barytes, and the carbon- 
ates of magnesia and lime. The blende and galena are so 
predominant in this class as to render the ore unfit for 
amalgamation, while the percentage of silver in the Stro- 
meyerite is too great to allow of its being treated profita- 
bly in the barrels. This class represents about ten per 



164 Arizona and Sonora. 

cent, of the entire amount of ore, and the average of its 
yield of silver, calculated on the entire amount smelted, 
is nearly $1000 to the ton of 2000 pounds, while the 
amount contained is about fifteen per cent. more. 

The second class contains the same minerals as the first, 
but they are more intimately associated with the gangue, 
which in this class forms the bulk of the ore. The blende 
and galena have a moderate percentage of silver (thirty 
to fifty ounces), while the tetrahedrite [FaliUrz^ or gray 
copper ore) varies from one to one and a half per cent., 
and the Stromeyerite is said to rise as high as twenty-six 
per cent. Chlorobromide of silver and native copper 
have occurred, and native silver in small flakes is fre- 
quent. Two varieties of quartz are found, one in the 
ordinary glassy form, often comby ; and an opaque white 
variety, very brittle, and associated with the richer min- 
erals. Crystallized specimens are very rare, and of the 
copper silver glance none have been observed. 

I have observed the following well-defined paragenetic 
successions occurring in cavities : 

a. 1, quartz ; 2, brown spar ; 3, scalenohedral calcite. 
h. 1, brown spar; 2, barytes; 3, scalenohedral calcite. 

c. 1, quartz ; 2, galena; 3, quartz. 

d. 1, quartz; 2, blende; 3, calcite. 

e. 1, quartz; 2, blende; 3, rliombohedral calcite; 4, native silver; 

5, scalenohedral calcite. 
/. 1, quartz; 2, brown spar; 3, barytes; 4, native silver. 

From this it will appear that the general succession in 
age is, 1st, quartz; 2d, brown spar; 3d, blende, barytes ; 
4th, calcite ; 5th, native silver ; 6th, scalenohedral calcite. 
From this list the relative ages of blende and barytes do 
not api^fear. 

Galena, blende, and tetrahedrite are usually closely as- 
sociated with each other in this ore, w^hile the argentifer- 
ous sulphuret of copper is entirely independent of them, 
but is, at times, mixed with erubescite. Native silver oc- 



Mineralogical Sketch of Arizona. 165 

curs in tlie common filigree form in cavities in the argen- 
tiferous copper glance, and is often observable in minute 
specks on the tarnislied surface of blende and tetrahedrite. 

The reduction works are on the Arivaca ranch, eight 
miles distant from the mine, and connected with it by an 
excellent road. The process used is the European barrel 
amalgamation for argentiferous copper ores, and was in- 
troduced by Mr. Kilstel, a German metallurgist, about 
three years since. The extent of the works is very small, 
permitting of the treatment of about one and a half tons 
a day. Six dry stamps, a steam arrastra, one reverbera- 
tory roasting furnace, four barrels, a retort, and one re- 
fining furnace, together with a ten-horse power engine, 
constitute the works. 

The second class ore, after being coarse stamped, is re- 
moved to the arrastra, which is capable of grinding one 
ton per day to the necessary fineness. The resulting 
slime, after drying, is pounded and sifted. Five hundred 
pounds of the ore, after being mixed with from eight to 
ten per cent, of salt, are subjected to the chloridizing 
roasting for about four hours. About one half hour be- 
fore withdrawing the charge, two per cent, of unburnt 
limestone is added to reduce the bichloride of copper to 
protochloride. In this manner, six roastings are made in 
twenty-four hours. The barrels are charged with 1000 
pounds of the roasted ore, 100 pounds metallic copper in 
metallic balls, and 144 pounds of water. After revolving 
two hours, to effect the partial reduction of salts injurious 
to the mercury by the copper, 500 pounds of quicksilver 
are added. 

After revolving twenty-four hours in all, including the 
second watering to collect the disseminated globules of 
quicksilver, the whole is withdrawn, and the amalgam 
separated and retorted. The resulting silver is simply 
melted in a small reverbcratory refining fm-nace, with the 



166 Arizona and Soiiora. 

addition of a little borax, and cast in bars of different 
sizes, having a fineness of 0.990 to 0.998. In the absence 
of coin, these are used as a circulating medium, and find 
their way to Sonora, and ultimately to England. 

The defects of this process, as applied at Arivaca, are 
very great, and are attributable in part to the character 
of the ores and absence of some facilities. The roasting 
is performed too hurriedly, and the roving character of the 
Mexicans renders it very difticult to make them good 
workmen at the furnace, where so delicate a process, re- 
quiring long practice, is to be well executed. The per- 
centage of sulphur in the ore subjected to this oj^eration 
is so very low, that the decomposition of the salt must be 
imperfect, causing inordinate loss of this material, which 
is very expensive. Owing to the small amount of lime 
added during the roasting there can not but be an unnec- 
essarily large loss of quicksilver. The loss of silver is 
said to be from twenty to thirty per cent., which destroys 
the main advantage of the European barrel process over 
the cheaper Mexican amalgamation ; but, by more care- 
fully meeting the requirements of the method, this loss 
could probably be reduced to at least ten per cent. These 
works were erected for temjDorary use, and, consequently, 
the amount of manual labor is more than double that 
which is necessary. 

The workmen at the furnace receive one dollar per 
day of twelve hours ; Mexican laborers twelve to fifteen 
dollars per month, and to each man a ration of sixteen 
pounds of flour per week. American laborers are paid 
from thirty to seventy dollars per month and boarded. 
The cost of salt which is brought from near the coast, is 
four cents per pound ; of copper, twenty-five cents per 
pound ; and wood, from four to six dollars per cord, de- 
livered at the furnace. The price of quicksilver is one 
dollar per pound. 



3Iineralogical Sketch of Arizona. 167 

The first-class ore was formerly smelted at the mine in 
Castilian furnaces, with the addition of an ore of sulphide 
and carbonate of lead, litharge, and iron ore. The loss 
of silver was from fifteen to tw^enty per cent., and the 
cost of extracting that metal about sixty dollars per ton 
of ore. The yield, as before stated, was nearly llOOO to 
the ton. 

From the results obtained in 1859 on 160 tons of amal- 
gamated ore, it appears that about 824,000 Avorth of sil- 
ver Avas produced. The loss of quicksilver equaled one 
poimd (z=one dollar) for every forty dollars of silver ex- 
tracted. The consumption of copper Avas 1480 pounds; 
of salt, 32,000 pounds; and of Avood, 300 cords. The pro- 
duction of silver at the Heintzelman Mine is estimated at 
over $100,000 (not including large amounts of ore stolen 
and Avorkcd in Souora) ; but, had it been Avell and regu- 
larly Avorked, and provided Avith reduction Avorks of suffi- 
cient capacity, it might have produced over $1,000,000 
in the same time. 

This is the first experiment made in the United States 
in applying the barrel process to the treatment of argen- 
tiferous copper ores, and it is not surprising that, in sub- 
mitting to it ores of the peculiar character Avhich these 
possess, and especially Avhen Ave consider the absence of 
necessary facilities, Ave should find in it important defects, 
many of which are remediable. 

No experiments have been made in Avorking this ore 
by the patio or Spanish-American amalgamation process, 
so that it is not known to Avhat extent the rejection of 
the present method Avould jH'ove advantageous; but the 
results obtained at Arivaca show conclusively that, by 
remedying the defects Avithin the limits of possibility, and 
by proper substitution of mechanical for manual labor, 
the European method can be used Avith profit in Arizona 
for ores of this class, and containing about $150 to the 



168 Arizona and ISonora. 

ton. The same may be said of the ores of many other 
mines which are free from lead, and in which tetrahedrite 
or copper glance is the principal silver bearer. 

Near Arivaca there are said to be twenty-five openings 
on veins worked formerly for gold and silver. The val- 
ley of this ranch is a large plain. The soil rests on clay 
slate, which is also, in part, covered by a slight deposit 
of the usual quaternary. The hills bounding the valley 
on the north and south are of quartziferous porj^hyry. 
This is a fine-grained rock, with pink crystals of ortho- 
clase and quartz crystallized in double pyramids. The 
northern line of contact between the clay slate and por- 
phyry is marked by a bold vein of quartz running east 
and west. In this are several openings, made previous to 
the Apache war. The ore which I observed was galena, 
and its altered products disseminated in quartz. It is 
said to contain gold. Several quartz veins traversing the 
porphyry have been worked for gold, as have also the 
beds of the arroyos in the neighborhood. Arivaca has 
too little wood for extensive operations. When the 
Heintzelman Mine is again worked, the reduction should 
be efiected at Tubac, where the erection of large works 
would be an incentive to the opening of many of the 
mines in that neighborhood. 

Santa Rita. — ^The mines of the Santa Rita are situated 
in and around a beautiful valley, about ten miles east of 
Tubac, and among the foot-hills of the Santa Rita Mount- 
ains. The valley and the hills to the north are of a met-- 
amorphic quartziferous porphyry, while the hills to the 
east consist of a feldspathic rock. It is in these two for- 
mations that the veins occur. The hills to the south 
are formed in part by the porphyry conglomerates al- 
ready mentioned, and in part by a remarkable feldspathic 
porphyry. This last rock has a compact light gray 



Mineralogical Sketch ofArizo7ia. 169 

ground, bearing numerous crystals of a wbitc triclinic 
feldsj^ar and small prisms of hornblende, but entirely free 
from quartz. It is apj^arently older tban the conglomer- 
ates. In it no veins have been discovered. 

The veins in the feldspathic rock are very numerous, 
and have, with few exceptions, a nearly east and west 
course. Their dip is nearly vertical, and they vary from 
ten to twenty-five inches in thickness. The gangue is 
almost entirely quartz, and the ore generally argentifer- 
ous gray copper and galena. When this last mineral is 
unaccompanied by the tetrahedrite, its yield is rarely over 
0.1 per cent, of silver, but when occurring in proximity 
to that mineral it contains often from 0.5 to 0.75 per 
cent. 

The gray copper ores vary from light steel-gray to 
tarnished black, and contain from one to over two per 
cent, of silver. This mineral, when associated with gale- 
na in decomposing, is replaced by a porous vitreous sub- 
stance of yellowish-green color, and consisting principally 
of antimoniate of lead, containing from one to two per 
cent, of silver. The "crystal vein" is of a massive ore of 
galena, with about twenty per cent, of zinc blende and 
copper pyrites. The gangue is quartz, but no tetrahe- 
drite was observed. This galena is very poor in silver, 
containing from 0.1 to 0.2 per cent. only. Thus to the 
presence of tetrahedrite is apparently due the silver of 
these ores. In this vicinity are several veins ofgosscm, or 
oxide of iron, the cappings of deposits of ore, and them- 
selves containing a moderate percentage, about 0.1 per 
cent., of silver. 

The wall rock of these veins is a crystalline granular 
rock, and has a slightly bluish tint on its fresh fracture, 
while its weathered surface is discolored by oxyd of iron 
proceeding from the alteration of the little hornblende 
contained in the rock. It also has a little mica and dis- 

II 



1 70 Arizona and Sonora. 

seminated particles of magnetic iron. It thus approaches 
in composition to a dioritic rock. 

The veins which occur in the metamorphic porj^hyry 
have, so far as opened upon, shown a different character 
from the above. The porphyry itself has a compact gray 
ground, impregnated with carbonate of lime, and bearing 
numerous crystals of oj^aque, white, triclinic feldspar, 
grains of quartz and dark gray mica in six-sided plates. 
It contains also specks of magnetic iron. 

Veins in this rock are of quartz, often comby, contain- 
ing a black tetrahedrite, with from four to eight per cent, 
of silver, and are in places impregnated with galena in 
small cubes, which contain 0.5 per cent, of silver. The 
gangue is discolored by the blue and green carbonates of 
copper and black manganese, with films of the sulphuret 
of silver and of native silver. Experiments made on va- 
rious quantities of these ores in the patio, with the use of 
salt and mercury, without roasting or magistral, have 
given an average yield of fifty per cent, of silver, and 
comparison witli correct assays shows that from eighty 
to eighty-five per cent, of the silver contained can be ex- 
tracted by the simple action of salt and mercury. This 
fact would seem to show that the silver of this tetrahe- 
drite is contained as mechanically mixed sulphuret. Some 
of the veins in this porphyry have been thrown out of 
position by a large dike of granite. 

These mines have been but little worked, although 
three attempts have been made — twice by the Mexicans 
and recently by the Santa Rita Company, but in each 
case the Apaches have forced an abandonment. The 
ores reduced by the last company were divided by hand 
separation into two classes. The first, containing tetra- 
hedrite in quartz and brown spar, had an average yield 
of 176 ounces of silver to the ton. The second class, a 
quartzy lead ore with little tetrahedrite, averaged eighty- 
one ounces to the ton. 



Mineralogical Sketch ofArizoiia. 171 

Cahuahb Klines. — Westward of the Baboquiveri range, 
on the outskirts of the desert, in a country clotlicd witli 
only bushy mesquit and cacti, and almost destitute of 
water, there exists a region which, from the character of 
its veins, appears to contain greater mineral wealth than 
any other part of Arizona yet explored. It is situated in 
the centre of a large plain, forming j^art of the Papagoria, 
and about eighty miles by trail northwest of Tubac. 

The veins which I observed occur in a quartziferous 
porphyry and in an amygdaloid rock. This latter has a 
brown compact base, containing numerous acicular crys- 
tals of triclinic feldspar, and calcareous spar in impreg- 
nations and small threads. Cavities, some filled with 
quartz and others with Delessite, are frequent. In this 
formation is the Cahuabi vein. It is from twelve to fif- 
teen inches thick, and consists of quartz and heavy spar, 
containing argentiferous copper glance, galena and black 
tetrahedrite. The ore of this vein is said to average from 

o 

$150 to $200 per ton. 

The Tajo vein, about three miles from the Cahuabi, oc- 
.curs in the same rock, and is about two feet in thickness. 
The gangue is barytes and quartz. The ore consists of 
copper glance, galena, and tetrahedrite, with some blende. 
With the copper glance is associated copper pyrites. 
This vein contains also considerable metallic gold. The 
ore is said to vary from $150 to $170 per ton. 

Four miles west of the Tajo is a vein which traverses 
a quartziferous porphyry of the same character as that 
which bears the gold quartz veins of Arivaca. The 
gangue is quartz, and contains black tetrahedrite and 
some vitreous copper. 

A great number of veins of quartz and barytes occur 
in these two formations, the latter seeming to prefer the 
amygdaloid rock. One vein of barytes, containing a 
" bonanza" of sulphuret of silver, was found and worked 



172 Arizona and Sojiora. 

by the Mexicans, and several specimens of heavy spar as- 
sociated with silver glance from various localities were 
shown me. 

The San Pedro Mines. — ^These are about thirty-five 
miles east of Fort Buchanan, and were opened by a St. 
Louis Company. The ores that I have seen from this lo- 
cality are tetrahedrite and massive copper glance, con- 
taining copper pyrites, with quartz and barytes for 
gangue from the San Pedro vein, and galena, with iron 
pyrites, from the St. Paul Mine. These veins were be- 
ing opened and promising well when the company aban- 
doned them on the account of the assassination of the 
employes by the peons. The San Pedro River near these 
mines is said to be capable of furnishing sufficient water 
power for extensive reduction works. 

From a study of the fissure silver veins of Central Ari- 
zona it would appear, firstly, that they have in common 
quartz, galena, and tetrahedrite ; secondly, that there is a 
close connection between barytes and copper glance, more 
or less argentiferous, in their occurrence in a vein ; and, 
thirdly, that the jDroportion of silver in the galena is large- 
ly increased when this mineral is associated with tetrahe- 
drite. A large number of assays made on the gray cop- 
per ores of different mines showed a range of from one to 
eight and a half per cent, of silver. In many, if not all 
the richer varieties examined, a large percentage was un- 
doubtedly contained as mechanically mixed sulphuret of 
silver. 

In the Santa Cruz Mountains, south of Fort Buchanan, 
is a series of lead mines, several of which were excavated 
by Mexicans several years since. They appear to follow 
the line of contact between an argillaceous limestone, in 
which corals have been found, and a probably metamor- 
phic porphyry. In places the deposits are of considerable 



Mineralocjical Sketch of Arizona. . 173 

extent, often many yards in thickness, but, ai)paroiitly, 
very irregularly developed. Near the surface the galena 
is often entirely changed into carbonate of lead associated 
with porous quartz. . 

At the Patagonia 3Iine^ the ore consists of galena suf- 
ficiently altered, at the present depth of working, to ren- 
der its reduction extremely simple. The average yield 
of silver from this ore has been, thus far, about 680 per 
ton. 

There is another class of contact veins bearing both 
lead and copper ores. To this class belongs the deposit 
near San Xavier, on the Santa Cruz. The ore is galena, 
with copj)er j^yrites and tile ore, associated with oxyd of 
iron and quartz, the whole interstratified with metamor- 
phic limestone. The galena examined contained 0.20 per 
cent., the cojDper pyrites 0.25 per cent., and the tile ore 
0.10 per cent, silver. 

Near Caborca, in Northwestern Sonora, are deposits of 
a somewhat similar character. The strata of metamor- 
phic limestone are almost vertical, and near their contact 
with granite become highly impregnated Avith lime gar- 
nets. Along the line of contact between the two forma- 
tions, the presence of copper ores is indicated by frequent 
occurrence of green and blue carbonates and impure red 
oxyd. These indications often lead to the discovery of 
limited deposits containing a few hundred tons of copper. 
One of these, worked in 1861, yielded from 250 to 300 
tons of twenty-five per cent. ore. There was no vein ; 
the ore, which was accompanied by calcareous spar, being 
gradually replaced at the bottom of the deposit by the 
limestone of the formation. The ore is copper glance, tile 
ore, or impure red oxyd, and some copper pyrites. Ac- 
companying these deposits, and also where no copper ore 
is visible, the line of contact is occupied by masses of 
* Now the Mowrv Silver Mines. 



174 . Arizona and Sonora. 

magnetic iron. Where the same limestone comes iu con- 
tact with diorite, the former contains large crystals of 
magnetic iron and spinel. 

JPkmchas de la Plata. — In Sonora, jnst south of the 
line, and near the meridian of Tubac, are the Planchas de 
la Plata Mines, still celebrated throughout the republic. 
According to the best Mexican and Jesuit authorities, 
large masses of native silver were discovered there in 
1769. Pieces of great size were obtained (one is said to 
have weighed 3600 pounds), and the workings were being 
prosecuted with vigor and success, when the Spanish gov- 
ernment declared the deposit to be a criadero^ and, as 
such, to belong to the crown. The place was therefore 
abandoned, and every attempt made at regular working 
since the Kevolution has been frustrated by the Apaches. 

The most singular feature connected w^ith the discovery 
is that no vein, from which these masses could have come, 
was found. The deposit seems to have been a regular 
placer. The silver occurred in pieces of every size down 
to small grains. Several rich veins were opened in the 
neighboring mountains, but were also abandoned from 
absence of protection. The only specimens that I have 
seen from this locality were apparently a partially decom- 
posed quartziferous porphyry, from the wall rock of the 
Mina Colorada, and were impregnated with grains of sil- 
ver glance. 

General Oonclusiojis. — Before the working of mines in 
Arizona can become regular and profitable, many changes 
will be necessary. The Apaches must either be exterm- 
inated or reduced to complete submission, and this can 
only be accomplished by a long series of campaigns. A 
port is also necessary, without which all supplies and ma- 
chinery have to be transported over deserts from the Gulf 



Mineralogical Sketch of Arizona. 175 

of Mexico or the Colorado River. Guayraas, 350 miles, 
and Port Lobos, 150 miles from Tubac, arc the natural 
entrances to the country, and, so long as these remain in 
the hands of a treacherous and capricious government, no 
enterprise can flourish either in Arizona or Sonora. Far- 
ther, the present unnatural boimdary-line Avill always be 
a source of trouble, affording a shelter to the robbers and 
assassins of both countries. 

The substitution of white for peon labor would proba- 
bly be a failure, owing to the debilitating influence which 
the climate exerts on Northerners. The Mexican labor 
is good when properly superintended ; but, to render it 
advantageous, the recognition of the traditionary custom 
of jDConage is necessary. A thorough code of mining 
laws is also much to be desired ; for, however well the 
plan of permitting miners to make their own regulations 
may be thought to work in gold districts, it Avill never 
place silver mining on a solid basis, but can not, on the 
contrary, act otherwise than prejudicially to the interests 
of botli miners and the state. 

There is but little doubt that, after a few years of j^rop- 
er development, Arizona might become an important 
source of silver, although its veins do not possess the 
great thickness of many of the mines of Mexico, although 
the average richness of the ore is greater and more con- 
centrated. Still, it can not be expected to produce the 
brilliant results obtained in Central Mexico. 



176 Arizona and Sonora. 



CHAPTER X. 

CORRESPONDENCE.* 

S. Mowry to J. K. Bartlett, Esq. — From J. E. Bartlett, Esq. — From 
John C. Hays, Esq. — From Hon. Joseph Lane. — From John Nu- 
gent, Esq. — From Hon. Miguel A. Otero. — From S. W. Inge, Esq. 
—From Major C. E. Bennett. — From Sam. F. Butterworth, Esq. 

S. Moxory to J. B. Bartlett, Esq. 

Washington, September 20, 1857. 

My dear Sie, — The general impression which has in 
some way become diffused that the new Territory of Ari- 
zona is a worthless and barren country is so wide from 
the truth, and is calculated to retard in so great a degree 
the early develoj)ment of this valuable region, that any 
reliable information respecting its mineral and agricultu- 
ral resources will be read by the public with great in- 
terest. 

The recent large emigration into the new Territory, 
the fabulous stories which each California mail brings us 
of discoveries in silver and copper, the establishment of 
the Overland Mail route to California throughout its en- 
tire length, the petition of its inhabitants for government 
protection, and the probability of its erection into a sep- 

* The following letters from eminent persons, some of them of na- 
tional reputation, are only a portion of those in my possession, extend- 
ing over a period of seven years. They are given as additional and 
unanswerable testimony to the truth of the statements contained in the 
preceding pages. The concluding letter, from Sam. F. Butterworth, 
Esq., President of the Quicksilver Mining Company, and late Super- 
intendent of the United States Assay Office at New York, was received 
after this edition was prepared for the press. The high character of 
the writer, and his intimate acquaintance with the subject, gives espe- 
cial weight to his opinion, — S. M. 



Correspondence. 1^7 

arate Territory by the next Congress, all operate to make 
Arizona a prominent subject of public inquiry. Few per- 
sons know better than yourself its resources, both agri- 
cultural and mineral. Perhaps no one can furnish such 
accurate and decided information, especially of that vast 
agricultural region north of the Gila, Avhich once sustain- 
ed a mighty population. 

Your official connection with the Gadsden Purchase as 
United States Commissioner invests any statement from 
you in this connection with emphatic authority. I am 
sure you will at once interest the public, and greatly 
serve the people of Arizona, by allowing your views, al- 
ready known to your friends, to be published. 

Very respectfully, your friend and servant, 

Sylvester Mowey. 

Hon. John K. Bartlctt, late United States Commissioner. 



From J. it. JBartlett^ Esq. 

Providence, October 31, 1857. 

Deak Sik, — I have received your letter of the 20th 
ultimo, asking of me certain information relative to the 
mineral wealth and agricultural resources of the new 
Territory of Arizona, which is now attracting public at- 
tention, with a desire that I will furnish such facts as 
came under my notice relative to this region while acting 
as United States Commissioner in the survey of the Mex- 
ican boundary. 

"The general impression," which, you observe, "has 
become diftused, that this Territory is a worthless and 
barren country," is not correct. A large jDortion of Cali- 
fornia may be called barren — indeed, the gold-bearing re- 
gion is in a great measure so — but no one would call it 
a " worthless" country. Its hills, its elevated lands, and 
many of its plains, being destitute of water-courses and 

H 2 



178 Jlrizona and So7iora. 

springs, are of little value for agricultural purjDOses, while 
for grazing they are valuable. There are, besides, large 
districts in California, strictly deserts, which are barren 
and worthless. Again, the valleys along the rivers and 
water-courses, as well as those lying between ranges of 
mountain, and deriving sustenance therefrom, are exceed- 
ingly rich, and surpass in fertility any agricultural dis- 
tricts of the Atlantic States. The same rule Avill apply to 
the region in question, which is included in the so-called 
Territory of Arizona. 

In replying to your queries, I will extend my observa- 
tions to the territory embraced in the "Gadsden Pur- 
chase," so called, as well as to the district which bounds 
that territory on the north, particularly the valley of the 
Gila, and of its principal confluent, the River Salinas, as 
you make mention of this. 

The vast region in question, like California, presents 
three distinct features in its surface, without speaking of 
the mountainous district ; first, dry plains ; second, ele- 
vated plateaus or table-lands ; and, third, agricultural val- 
leys or bottom lands. 

Of the districts embraced in the first division, one 
lies south of the Gila, between the head waters of the 
Gulf of California and the valley of the Santa Cruz ; the 
other west of the Rio Grande, at intervals between that 
and the San Pedro valley. The table-lands lie in the lat- 
ter district, as well as between the San Pedro and Santa 
Cruz Rivers. The valleys where there are arable lands 
are the Rio Grande, the Mirabres, and in the Burro 
Mountains, El Saux, San Pedro, Calabazas, Santa Cruz, 
and the Gila. The Rio Grande, San Pedro, and Santa 
Cruz are the larger ; the others, though small, could be 
rendered highly productive, and would be brought into 
use in settling the Territory. In speaking of arable lands, 
it is necessary to remark that artificial irrigation is neces- 



Correspo)ide)ice. 1*79 

sary for all agriculture throughout New Mexico, much 
of Texas, and the whole of Northern Mexico. The yield 
in this case is vastly greater than is pK)duced in countries 
where the sole dependence is upon the rains. 

The dry plains are generally level, with a hard surface, 
and are admirably adapted for the purposes of a wagon 
road or railway. Experience has shown, too, that, with 
artesian wells, water may be obtained. By mere digging 
I found it in many places where certain indications well 
known to experienced eyes may always detect its exist- 
ence. Whether these arid spots can ever be rendered 
available for agricultural purposes I will not pretend to 
say. My opinion is that they can not. 

The table-lands are covered with a short and luxuri- 
ant grass, upon which immense herds of cattle have been 
and may still be raised. Formerly herds of forty thou- 
sand existed in Chihuahua, which then included the east- 
ern portion of Arizona. On the haciendas where there 
were no ponds or streams the cattle obtained their water 
from the " pozos," or simple wells, and the " norias," or 
draw-wells, where the water was drawn up by a wheel 
worked by mules. These peculiar wells are found 
throughout Chihuahua, Durango, and other states, and 
furnish a sufficient supply of water for haciendas with 
large droves of cattle. I met with many of these wells 
far from any streams. 

In the northern parts of Chihuahua, or Arizona, the 
cattle herds have long since disappeared, owing to the 
incursions of the Apaches and Camanches ; and I may 
make the same remark with regard to that portion of the 
Territory of Arizona Avhich formerly belonged to Sonora. 
The great herds have disappeared, and the haciendas are 
every where in ruin. 

In the grazing district I ought also to include many 
of the mountain vallevs and ravines, as Avell as the lesser 



180 Arizona and Sonora. 

hills, where gramma gv:{.'&^{crondosiiim) is found in abund- 
ance, and which is greedily eaten by horses, mules, sheep, 
and horned cattle. This grass is very nutritious, and 
even when dry and parched by the intense heat of sum- 
mer is eagerly sought after by animals. 

The great plateau west of the Rio Grande, where 
grass exists, and which may embrace two thirds or more 
of the elevated region, consists of an undulating prairie, 
with here and there a conical-shaped hill. No considera- 
ble or continuous range of mountains is met with until a 
sj^ur of the Sierra Burro is reached, which is about twelve 
miles Avest of Ojo de Yaca. Cooke's Spring, Ojo de 
Vaca, and Pachetehu are depressions in the plain where 
sjDrings bearing these names are found, and which are 
well known to those who*have traversed this region. In 
the Burro Mountains is a fine spring called by us "Ojo 
de Inez," with several pools of water in the valley adja- 
cent. Besides these, our surveying parties discovered 
other springs and pools of water near the hills, as well as 
in depressions on the plain, which, if opened, would fur- 
nish a good supi^ly. Then we have also the large body 
of water west of the El Paso, known as Lake Guzman, 
and the River Mimbres. 

The Mimbres rises in the Rocky Mountains, and, after 
coursing through the plateau, discharges itself, when full, 
into Lake Guzman. It seldom reaches that lake, howev- 
er, its waters being absorbed or lost in the plain. Its 
sources have never been traced, but, as far as known, it 
must flow about one hundred and thirty miles when full. 
I found it dry thirty miles south of an encampment at the 
Copper Mines (Fort Webster) in July. The Mimbres is 
but a small stream, and hardly deserves the name of a 
river ; hence its cultivable valley is narrow, nowhere ex- 
ceeding a mile after entering the open plain. 

I followed the stream two miles below where we first 



Correspondence. 181 

struck it and where we encamped. Here there was a 
thick growth of large cottonwoods ; and, although the 
bottom was much contracted in width, it was thickly 
Avooded and forest-like. Taking a small armed party with 
me then for protection, I followed the river up for about 
five miles where it entered the hills, and a little beyond 
the Rocky Mountains. I noticed all along the valley great 
quantities of wild roses, hops, and the Missouri currant, 
in some places growing so rank and entangled that Ave 
Avere unable to Avork our- Avay through. The remains of 
old Indian encampments and Avigwams, Avith fragments 
of jDottery scattered around, shoAved that it Avas a place 
of resort for the Indians. 

In the mountains, Avhere the Mimbres receives constant 
accessions of Avater from lesser rivulets and springs, there 
are Avider valleys. It runs about eight miles east of the 
Copper Mines ; and here, on account of the excellent graz- 
ing, the abundance of Avood and Avater, w^e grazed our an- 
imals. There is no cultivated ground at the Copper 
Mines beyond a couple of acres ; and, although there are 
excellent garrison buildings here, the place Avas abandon- 
ed soon after the boundary commission left it, 1851, and 
Fort Webster established on the Mimbres, Avliich afford- 
ed superior advantages. In all this region there is an 
abundance of pine and other timber trees. Game, too, 
abounds, consisting of grizzly, broAvn, and black bears, 
deer, rabbits, turkeys, partridges, quails, etc., Avhile in the 
waters of the Mimbres Ave took excellent fish. 

Santa Kita del Cobre, or the Copper Mines, Avas for 
about forty years an active mining toAvn. The workings 
commenced in 1804, and, proving A'ery profitable, a j^opu- 
lation of six hundred souls gathered around them. The 
hills near by furnish grazing for the animals, but for agri- 
cultural productions the population depended upon the 
richly cultivated districts in the valleys of the San Miguel 



182 Arizona and Sonora. 

and Casas Grandes, to the southward. A considerable 
trade was also carried on with the frontier towns in So- 
nera. The return trains took back copper or ore, much 
of which, owing to its superior quality, was sent to the 
city of Mexico, where it was used for coinage. I was told 
in Chihuahua that the gold found in this ore paid the 
cost of transportation. 

I have little doubt that the region about the Copper 
Mines abounds in mineral wealth. Gold was found four 
miles from our camp, and som'e of our men, after leaving 
the commission, sunk a shaft there. They found gold, but, 
being ignorant of the means of washing it, and not know- 
ing the indications of its existence elsewhere, their project 
was abandoned. Several fine sj)ecimens of lead and silver 
ore, procured near by, were also shown me ; but the Apa- 
che chiefs told me they knew w^here both gold and silver 
Avere to be found in abundance some twenty miles distant 
in the mountains. They had specimens of gold, and offer- 
ed to conduct me to the spot where they obtained it ; but 
I did not think it safe to trust myself with these treacher- 
ous people, although I was on the most friendly terms 
with them, and excused myself from accompanying them 
by saying that my object was not to get gold, as they be- 
lieved, but to survey the boundary. The Mexicans have 
many traditions of the existence of silver ore in these 
mountains ; and I have no doubt a careful exi^loration by 
a skillful geologist would be the means of making known 
a very rich mining region. General Conde, when with 
me at the Copper Mines, assured me that he had knowl- 
edge of valuable silver ore in the adjacent mountains. 

On leaving this encampment in August, 1851, we jour- 
neyed south, stopping at the springs of Pachetehii and 
Ojo de Yaca. The whole plateau was then covered with 
verdure, owing to copious rains. At the latter spring I 
presume there is always water, as I found it there at my 



Correspondence. 183 

several visits in May, June, and August. There arc here 
a few acres where grass is always found. It is a water- 
ing-place for all passing trains, and has long been resorted 
to by the Indians. 

From this point we pursued a course nearly west, en- 
tering the broad district which had never been penetrated 
before by any white man in modern times (as far as I 
know), and where we had doubts whether Avater could be 
found. At twelve miles distance we entered a caiion or 
defile of the Burro Mountains, Avhich we followed up for 
six miles, to Ojo de Inez. This defile was thickly wooded 
with scrub oaks, and led to a grassy meadow, three hund- 
red yards wide, in which were many fine springs and pools 
of water. We traced a small spring running through this 
valley for several miles, and I have reason to think that 
it extends to the Gila. Here would be a good point for 
a station on a wagon road, as I suggested in my " Per- 
sonal Narrative," vol. i., p. 363. There is plenty of mead- 
ow-land, water, and wood ; and, though in a secluded spot, 
is accessible for loaded Avagons. 

The next valley with water is that known as " El Cie- 
nega del Saux," i. e., Willow Marsh, though now called 
the Valley de Saux. This lies east of the Chiracahui range 
of mountains, and a corresponding range about twenty 
miles distant. This space is without trees. The marsh 
is a basin where the waters are collected from the adjacent 
slopes. We encamped on its margin, where there were 
many pools of water, but of the extent of ground thus 
covered I was unable, from the flatness of the ground, to 
form any opinion. There can be no doubt that much of 
this valley can be brought under cultivation, and that it 
must become the site of one of the principal stations on 
the great wagon road now constructing. The old Spanish 
maps exhibit a stream called the "Suanco," emptying into 
the Gila, which appears to run through this valley. Many 



184 Arizona and Sonora. 

villages and ranches are marked npon the map along this 
river, Avhence it may be inferred that there is an agricul- 
tural valley here. In crossing the Saux valley I noticed 
an arroyo or dry bed of a stream, which, during and after 
the rainy season, may be filled with w^ater. 

In the Chiracahui Mountains w^e found water in abund- 
ance. So copious indeed w^as the supply (although but 
the basin of a spring), that after all our animals, about 
one hundred and fifty in number, had drank of it, we 
could perceive no diminution. The mountain j^ass Avas 
well wooded, with plenty of grass. The exact position 
of our encampment here was latitude 32° 08' 43", longi- 
tude 109° 24' 33". 

Between these mountains and the San Pedro is an un- 
dulating plain, intersected by a mountain range near the 
river, with brackish w^ater in some parts. Portions of 
this bear a short grass, but there is no w^ood except in 
the mountain defile through which we passed, and but a 
scanty suj)ply there. 

The San Pedro valley is next reached, and lying some 
ten or twelve feet below the bottom land, unmarked by 
trees, the river is not observed until at its very margin. 
It was here about thirty feet wide and two and a half 
deep. Its depth varies with the rainy and dry seasons. 
Its valley is from a quarter of a mile to a mile in width, 
and in some places I was told it was still wider. This 
valley formerly sustained a considerable population, scat- 
tered about in haciendas and ranches, and engaged in 
rearing cattle. I noticed the ruins of haciendas Avhich 
for years had been abandoned, and also saw herds of wild 
cattle roaming through the mesquit chapparal of the val- 
ley. A few days after we met with a large party of 
Mexicans, under Don Ilarian Garcia, engaged in hunting 
wild cattle, in order to obtain a supply of beef for the 
army, for which beef he had the contract. From him I 



Correspondence. 185 

learned that the valley was much broader farther south, 
and that thousands of cattle grazed there. 

I ain not aware that much of this valley has been un- 
der cultivation by artificial irrigation, as we did not meet 
with the usual traces of irrigating canals, which, when 
once dug, never disappear entirely. Yet such irrigation 
may have been employed in parts of the valley that I did 
not examine. 

A pretty little stream, which I learned from the Mexi- 
can hunters referred to, called the Babacanora, entered 
the San Pedro about twenty-five miles above where we 
first encamped. AYe also encamped at this stream, near 
a ruined hacienda, where there were remains of an or- 
chard of fruit-trees. The valley of the Babacanora is 
wide, and was covered with luxuriant grass; indeed, it 
was a much more attractive and apparently richer spot 
than the valley of the San Pedro. Its broad flats or bot- 
toms resembled those of the Mohawk River, and it was 
in these, near the confluent with the latter stream, that 
the Mexicans were hunting the wild cattle. 

Leaving the valley of the San Pedro we came upon a 
rolling country or prairie, here and there covered with a 
short grass, upon which we encountered small herds of 
mustangs. This grass was eagerly eaten by our animals. 
On these plains we found many depressions with pools 
of water. One of these depressions led to a small run- 
ning stream, coursing through a level bottom, which we 
traced for about fifteen miles. This was studded for a 
portion of the distance with large oaks and sycamores, 
and resembled a highly cultivated English park ; yet soli- 
tude reigned around, and there was no evidence that it 
had ever been inhabited by white men. Farther on, near 
Avhere the stream forced its way through the mountains 
known as the Sierra Santa Rita, Ave found the ruins of a 
liacienda, with a tract of rich l)Ottom land near. On tliis 



186 Arizona and Bonora. 

bottom there were cottonwood trees of immense size. 
The stream, which is here about twenty feet wide, emp- 
ties into the Santa Cruz near the hacienda of Calabaza. 

The whole district lying between the valley of the San 
Pedro and the Santa Cruz may strictly be called a graz- 
ing country. It is well watered by the streams mention- 
ed and by the many small pools. As we approached the 
lofty Sierra de Santa Rita we crossed several arroyos 
lined w^ith trees, showing that after the rainy season there 
is a great abundance of water here. 

We now approach the Santa Cruz River and its valley, 
unquestionably the finest agricultural district in the w^hole 
of the Gadsden Purchase, after leaving the bottom lands 
of the Rio Grande. It is also the best wooded of any 
portion of the Territory, and in other respects presents 
many advantages for settlers ; indeed, this valley, with 
its adjacent districts, where there are several rich and 
highly cultivated haciendas and missions, must become 
the granary for the future State of Arizona. 

The Santa Cruz River rises in a broad valley, or rather 
l^lain, north of the town of the same name. We struck 
it at the base of a mountain range, where an open coun- 
try, studded with oaks, lay before us. Passing these was 
an open plain covered with luxuriant grass, without a 
tree or shrub ; crossing which, after being contracted 
between low ranges of hills, we reached Santa Cruz. 
This is an old town and presidio, and falls about ten 
miles south of our line. Flowing south nine miles to San 
Lorenzo, a deserted rancho, it soon after takes a norther- 
ly course, winding its way through a beautiful valley, 
until it is lost in the desert plain or sands, some ten or 
fifteen miles north of Tucson. Its entire length in a di- 
rect line, without reckoning its sinuosities, is about a 
hundred miles. Its wddth varies from 20 to 100 feet, and 
during very dry seasons portions of it disappear. 



Correspondence. 187 

This valley was traversed by the earliest Spanish ex- 
plorers in 1535, seduced by the flattering accounts of Ca- 
beya de Vaca. Marco do Niza and Coronado led their 
adventurers through it in search of the famed cities of 
Cibola, north of the Gila; and before the year 1600, its 
richness having been made known, it was soon after oc- 
cupied as missionary ground. liemains of several of 
these missions still exist. The mission church of San 
Xavier del Bac, erected during the last century, is the 
finest edifice of the kind in Sonora. Tumacacori, a few 
miles south of Tubac, was the most extensive mission in 
this part of the country. The extensive buildings, irri- 
gating canals, and broad cultivated domain here at once 
attest its advantages. 

The towns and settlements in the Santa Cruz valley 
are Santa Cruz and San Lorenzo (south of our line), Cal- 
abazas, Tumacacori, Tubac, Sopori, the mission of San 
Xavier, and Tucson. Santa Cruz, Tubac, and Tucson 
were presidios. With the exception of Santa Cruz and 
Tucson, this entire valley was abandoned to the savage 
Apaches at the time of my first visit in 1851, and the 
population of these was greatly diminished ; indeed, but 
for the military the Indians would have had entire pos- 
session of it. At Calabazas a small stream enters, upon 
wliich are fine bottom lands. At Sopori is another ex- 
tensive hacienda, with a broad domain and fine bottom 
lands. Between Tubac and San Xavier is the finest tim- 
bered district in the country ; it extends from the river 
to the base of the mountains, and is apparently several 
miles in width. The timber is wholly mesquit, of a larger 
size than I noticed any where in the Territory, except 
in the valley of the Colorado. This timber must be of 
hicalculable value both for railroad and mining purposes. 
For building purposes it is too hard and crooked. Be- 
sides, the Cottonwood is found on the margin of all 



188 Arizona and Sonora. 

streams ; it is of rapid growth, and well adapted for 
buildinsf. 

Tucson, the most northern presidio in Mexico, once 
contained three thousand inhabitants. In 1851 it had 
dwindled down to less than five hundred, and I under- 
stand now contains between one and two thousand. The 
valley here is wide and rich. The large and picturesque 
haciendas, and the wide-spread system of irrigation which 
every where marks the plain, sufficiently attest its suscep- 
tibility for cultivation. Between Tucson and the Gila is 
an arid desert ninety miles across, about midway on 
which is a well-known picacho^ at the base of which wa- 
ter is often found in pools, and where, by sinking wells, 
it might be had at all times. 

With regard to the lands bordering on the River Gila, 
but a portion are susceptible of cultivation by the usual 
means adopted in that region, irrigation. Its valley is 
wooded generally with cottonwood trees, while border- 
ing on this are " openings" of mesquit. The best portion 
of the Gila valley is occupied by the two tribes of Indians 
known as the Pimos and the Coco Maricopas. This is 
a tract lying 180 miles from its mouth, between the point 
where the road from Tucson strikes the Gila and the 
mouth of the Salinas. The arable lands occupied and 
cultivated by the Indians referred to extend from sixteen 
to twenty miles along the river, and are from three to 
four miles in width. Irrigating canals or "acequias" 
conduct the Avater of the Gila over all this cultivated dis- 
trict. The Indians raise wheat, corn, millet, beans, ^^ump- 
kins, and melons in great abundance. Their wheat and 
corn they grind into flour, from which they make a pala- 
table bread. They also raise a superior quality of cot- 
ton, from which they spin and weave their own gar- 
ments ; an art not acquired from the Spaniards, but 
which was found amonGc them more than three hundred 



Correspondence. 189 

ycnrs ago, when the Si^aniards first penetrated this coun- 
try. 

But the arable lands of the Gila at this point are not 
limited to the district occupied by the Pimos and Coco 
Maricopas ; they extend far up that stream until it en- 
ters the mountains. I traced it up beyond the cele- 
brated " Casas Grandes," and found the bottom land in- 
tersected in all directions by old irrigating canals of 
greater or less size; ruins of ancient edifices, vast mounds 
and tumuli, with long lines of earth -works; while the 
whole district was strewn with the fragments of pottery, 
and " metates," or stone corn-grinders, all of which went 
to show that a large and industrious population, familiar 
with agriculture and the arts of the semi -civilized In- 
dians, formerly dwelt here. 

You refer particularly to a district north of and imme- 
diately contiguous to the Gila which was examined by 
me. This tract is, p«r excellence.^ the finest agricultural 
district in our lately-acquired territories lying in the same 
latitude, between Eastern Texas and the Pacific, for the 
great extent and richness of the soil, the abundance and 
excellence of the Avater, the cotton wood timber for build- 
ing purposes, the fine quarries of stone in the adjacent 
hills, and for the facility with which it may be approach- 
ed from every quarter. ^ 

The district in question lies at the junction, and in a 
measure forms the delta of the Salinas and Gila Rivers. 
It lies but a little above the bed of the river, and might 
be, in consequence, easily irrigated. The arable bottom 
land is from two to four miles in width, and is overgrown 
with mesquit, while on the river's margin grow large 
cottonwoods. The river we found to be from eighty to 
120 feet wide, from two to four feet deep, and both rapid 
and clear. In these respects it differs from the Gila, which 
is sluggish and muddy for the 200 miles I followed its 



190 Arizona and Sonora. 

banks. About forty miles from the month of the river 
we came to extensive remains of an ancient race. Here 
the table-land approached to within a mile of the river, 
and along its margin was an ancient canal from twenty 
to twenty -five feet wide and about four deep, which 
seemed to extend a long distance toward the mountains. 
From this were lateral canals or ditches, intersecting the 
bottom in all directions for irrigating it. The table-land 
was covered with mounds and the ruins of ancient edi- 
fices, while fragments of pottery, stone axes, and corn- 
grinders were scattered over it for miles, showing that 
it once sustained a large population. I learned from Mr. 
Leroux, the famous guide who accompanied me on this 
occasion, that much more extensive ruins were to be 
seen farther up the river, and particularly in the valley 
of the Rio Verde, which were built of stone. I speak of 
these to show the extent of the agricultural population 
that was formerly supported here, as well as to furnish 
an argument to sustain me in the opinion that this is one 
of the most desirable positions for a permanent agricul- 
tural settlement, with a military post, of any between the 
Rio Grande and the Colorado. 

The Gila is not a navigable stream, but after its rise 
flat-bottomed boats loaded with merchandise might easi- 
ly pass up as far as the Salinas, and perhaps to the Pimo 
villages. 

The next point of interest is the valley of the Colorado 
of the West. 

The Colorado is the largest stream between the Mis- 
sissippi and the Pacific. It has many large tributaries, 
most of them, like itself, bordered with wide alluvial bot- 
toms, and all well wooded ; the angle, forming the delta 
of the Colorado and Gila Rivers, is entirely covered with 
a forest, and is often overflowed. The former stream 
where it receives the Gila is about 500 yards wide, and 



Correspondence. 191 

after j^assing a rocky canon is much diminislicd ; yet it 
varies much, according to the floods, both in depth and 
width. When our surveying party crossed the Colorado 
in January, 1852, they found the water (tlien at its lowest 
point) to be four feet deep at the shallowest place Avherc 
it was forded. Six months later I found it thirteen feet 
higher at Fort Yuma, with an actual velocity of five and 
a quarter miles an hour, as ascertained by experiment. 

The bottom lands of the Colorado at Fort Yuma, and 
at the Algodones, a few miles below, are exceedingly rich, 
are well Avooded, and bear the marks of a former culti- 
vation, irrigating canals being seen in all directions, even 
in the densest part of the forest. Nowhere have I seen 
bottom lands which could more easily be irrigated, owing 
to the little elevation of the banks above the stream. 

Having now spoken of the agricultural districts of Ari- 
zona, and specified the arable and the grazing lands, I wiU 
speak of its mineral resources. In doing this I must nec- 
essarily be brief, for the reason that its mineral wealth, be- 
ing below the surface, was not apparent to me or my party. 

From the Mexicans of intelligence living in Souora I 
learned that the Saukita Mountains, lying east of the Santa 
Cruz valley, abounded in silver. Some of these mines 
had formerly been worked. West of this valley, in the 
arid region, which has but few inhabitants, are both silver 
and copper mines. The copper mine " Del Ajo," and the 
"Santa Teresa and Sopori" silver mines, are among the 
most celebrated. 

Many others, scarcely opened, including gold, silver, 
and copper, are known to exist, but which have been 
abandoned or were never worked for the want of means 
and of protection against the Indians. The want of these 
has led to the abandonment of valuable mines throughout 
the States of Chihuahua and Sonora ; indeed, I was told 
by old residents in these states that "hundreds" of mines 



192 Arizona and Sonor a. 

had thus been abandoned, a portion only having been 
worked to any extent. 

On the old Spanish maps of the district in question 
there are many towns laid down in places near mountains 
where there are neither grazing or arable lands, and which 
could only have been supported by mining. In reaching 
those jDortions of the states mentioned where the popula- 
tion is sufficiently numerous to protect themselves, we 
find silver mines of great richness ; but even these are but 
imperfectly worked, for the want of means and proper 
machinery. Several of these mines I entered myself, and 
saw a great variety of specimens of ore from others. Of 
gold, copper, cinnabar, and lead, I also saw many fine 
specimens taken from the mountains in the vicinity, all of 
which tended to convince me that these mountains do 
really abound in these metals. A careful geological sur- 
vey is necessary in order to make known the mineral re- 
sources of this country. Should this be done, I do not 
hesitate to express my belief that such will be the results 
that a large poj)ulation will at once occupy it. The terri- 
tory, as a whole, is not an agricultural one ; nevertheless, 
there is quite sufficient arable or agricultural land to sus- 
tain any mining population which may ever be fixed here. 

It should be mentioned, too, that the finest grain region 
in Chihuahua is the valley of the Casas Grande, or San 
Miguel River, which is just south of our boundary, and 
that Sonora, on the opposite of the Sierra Madre, is a fine 
grain country. 

With the hope that these crude remarks, hastily drawn 
up, may aid you in making known the agricultural and 
mineral advantages of the Territory which you have been 
recently elected to rej^resent in the Congress of the Unit- 
ed States, I am, dear sir, your most obedient servant, 

John R. Baktlett. 

Lieut. S. Mowiy, Delegate to Congress > 
from the Territorv of Arizona. > 



Correspondence. 1 93 

From Jc^ n G. Ilays^ Esq. 

Washington, D. C, February 16, 1858. 

My dear Sir, — In answer to your note asking my 
opinion of the resources of Arizona (Gadsden Purchase), 
I take pleasure in saying in writing what I have already 
said in conversation — that I have traveled through the 
Territory from the Rio Grande to Fort Yuma, and that 
I consider it one of the finest grazing countries I have 
ever seen. The beautiful valleys of the streams which 
run into the Gila are fertile, and will sustain a very large 
population. I consider Arizona, especially in view of its 
great mineral wealth, a most desirable country for emi- 
grants in search of a new home, and confidently look 
forward to its becoming, at an early day, a populous and 
wealthy state. Very truly your friend, 

John C. Hats. 

To Sylrester Mowry, Delegate from Arizona, 



From Hon. Joseph Lane. 

Washington, March 21, 1858. 

Dear Sir, — In regard to the resources of Arizona, 
agricultural and otherwise, I have to say that I traveled 
over that country in the months of November and De- 
cember, 1848, by the Rio Mimbres ; the old, deserted 
ranches of San Bernardino and San Pedro to the settle- 
ments of Santa Cruz, Tucson, to the Pimo villages ; found 
the climate mild, grazing good, and many rich, beautiful, 
fertile valleys, capable of producing corn, wheat, rye, oats, 
and vegetables sufficient to subsist a large population. 

In short, I may say that I regard Arizona as an impor- 
tant portion of our country — rich in gold, silver, copper, 
and other valuable minerals, and decidedly the best graz- 
ing country on this continent, capable of subsisting mil- j 



194 Arizona and Sonora. 

lions of cattle without the aid of man. Over the route 
that I traveled there are no serious obstacles to a good 
wagon road ; the country is rolling, but not mountain- 
ous, over which you could travel without much difficulty 
in a buggy at all seasons of the year. Many streams of 
pure water are found, though in places good water is 
scarce. 

Very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

Joseph Lane. 
Lieut. Sylvester Mowry, Washington, D. C. 



From Johi Nugent^ Esq. 

"Washington, January 29, 1859. 
Sir, — I cheerfully give, in compliance Avith your re- 
quest, my views (in brief) regarding the population, soil, 
climate, capabilities, and advantages of Arizona. 

Of its present population I know nothing. My inform- 
ation on the other jDoints is derived from travel of some 
two and a half months through the Territory from east 
to west. 

/ I have no hesitation in saying that it has very remark- 
j able advantages of climate, and more than ordinary capa- 
5 bilities of soil. Some portions of it are an irreclaimable 
and utterly valueless desert ; but the greater part consists 
of fine pasture-land abounding in the rich gramma and 
other nutritious grasses, and no inconsiderable portion 
has the very finest soil, of teeming productiveness, and of 
limitless agricultural availability. It is not a thickly 
wooded country, but on most of the streams there is 
large timber and of different varieties. Many of the val- 
leys are of exceeding beauty and fertility, and west of 
the San Pedro there is some of the finest cotton-growing 
country in the world. The Pimos and Maricopas, even 



Correspondence. 195 

with their rude culture, ah-eady raise cotton of excellent 
quality. 

Of its mineral wealth, except in coj^per, I know Lut lit- 
tle. That it contains some of the richest and most ex- 
tensive copper mines on the continent I have myself 
proved by personal observation. 

On the whole, I doubt if there be any portion of the 
domain of the United States cast of the Colorado River 
that presents greater inducements for settlement to emi- 
grants from the old states than does the Territory of 
Arizona. From what I have seen of it, I am not aware 
of any material cause why it should not become in time 
a thriving and prosperous commonwealth. 

I have the honor to be your obedient servant, 

John Nugent. 
Hon. Sylvester Mowry. 



From Hon. Miguel A. Otero. 

House of Representatives, Jan. 29, 1859. 
Dear Sie, — In compliance with your request on yes- 
terday to furnish you in writing what, in my opinion, was 
two years ago the population of that portion south of the 
Territory of New Mexico bordering upon the Rio Grande, 
and now within the limits of the proposed Territory of 
Arizona, and also what I believe may now be the popu- 
lation embraced within that region of country, excluding 
the western part of that Territory, I take pleasure in stat- 
ing to you that the number of people residing in what is 
generally known as the Mesilla Valley, on both sides of 
the Rio Grande, could not have been less than 7000 
people at that time, when I canvassed that portion of 
New Mexico for Congress two years ago. I had a good 
opportunity of judging of the amount of population in 
it at that time. The vote cast there was about 1000 ; 



196 Arizona and JSonora. 

but I am free to say that that is no criterion by which to 
estimate or judge of the amount of population living 
there, because there were no more than one half of the 
voters who were able to vote in consequence of the rainy 
weather at that time. Many, too, were challenged on 
the ground that they were foreigners, and did not vote. 
If the weather had permitted it, and a full vote have 
been cast, it could not have been less than 1500 or 1*700 
votes. 

I learn farther that since that time much immigration 
has gone into the country, and I have no doubt that 
there are now at least 2000 votes in the Mesilla Valley, 
and about 8000 inhabitants. 

As to the population on the western portion of the 
proposed Territory, I had no opportunity to learn. It is 
my belief, however, that the population west of the Me- 
silla Valley can not be less than 2000 inhabitants, making, 
therefore, the Avhole population of the Territory about 
10,000 or 11,000 inhabitants. It may be even greater 
than this, when we take into consideration not only the 
unsettled condition of the Mexican states bordering on 
that Territory, the establishment of the Overland Mail 
through it, both of which considerations must naturally 
conduce to the increase of population, but also the dis- 
coveries of gold diggings in the Gila River. These facts, 
doubtless, have contributed much to the settlement of 
the country. 

Such, sir, is briefly my judgment with regard to the 
population of the Territory of Arizona. You know that 
I have no reason to overestimate the number of inhabit- 
ants there ; and what I state is no more than an impar- 
tial statement of fact, which you are at liberty to make 
such use of as you may best think. 

Truly yours, etc. Miguel A. Oteeo. 

Sylvester Mowry, Esq. 



Correspondence. 19^ 

From S. W. Inge^ Esq. 

San Francisco, Cal., February 22cl, 18G3. 

My deak Sie, — I liave received your letter stating 
your intention to republish simultaneously here and New 
York your lecture upon Arizona and Sonora, and asking 
me to give you my impressions of Sonora formed during 
a recent visit to that state. The republication of your 
lecture in view of the general attention now being direct- 
ed to the countries bordering upon the Gulf of California 
Avill be oj^portunc, and I regret my inability to add any 
thing of value to the information it will embody. 

My exploration of Sonora was limited to the territory 
lying between Guaymas and the rich mineral district of 
San Xavier. The section of Sonora included between the 
lines of 27° and 30° north latitude presents a remarkable 
combination of advantages. The climate is every where 
salubrious, from the Gulf to the Sierra Madre, and so mild 
and genial that the fruits of the tropics ripen in the month 
of January in the foot-hills of the mountains 120 miles 
from the Gulf. 

The surface is generally level, diversified here and there 
by isolated mountains, conical or table-topped, which give 
grandeur to the landscape without occuj^ying much of the 
arable area. The soil is of great depth and richness, re- 
sembling in many localities the lands of the Caney and 
Brazos in Texas, but happily exempt from the malaria of 
the latter. The sugar-cane and other valuable staples of 
the tropics, and of the states bordering on the Gulf of 
Mexico, may be successfully cultivated. As in Alabama, 
the cereals will mature into a golden harvest separated 
only by a hedge or a highway from the snowy fleece of 
the cotton-plant. The mineral wealth of this state is tra- 
ditional, and my examination of the district of San Xavier 
has confirmed the truth of' tradition. In this respect 



1 98 Arizona and So7iora. 

Sonora is entitled to precedence of all the states of 
Mexico. 

Having these natural elements of wealth and greatness, 
with a sea-port unsurpassed in convenience and security, 
I anticipate for Sonora the same rapid and wonderful de- 
velopment that has been realized in California. 

Very respectfully yours, S. W. Ii^^ge. 

Hon. Sylvester Mo wry, San Francisco. 



From Ilajor C. K .Be7i7ieU, U. S. A. 

San Francisco, Feb, 20th, 1863. 

Dear Sie, — In compliance with your request, I take 
pleasure in stating that I resided in Arizona several 
months. During the past year I traveled from California 
to the Rio Grande and back, via Tucson. 

Some portions of Arizona are valueless tracts of land, 
but the greater part of the country lying between Tucson 
and the Rio Grande is \hQ finest pasture-land in America. 
With water, which I have no doubt can be obtained in 
ample quantities by Artesian boring, there are large por- 
tions that would become valuable agricultural districts. 
The valleys of the Rio Grande, Gila, San Pedro, Santa 
Cruz, and Mimbres Rivers will sustain a large population ; 
and I am informed that the valleys north of the Gila River 
are rich, and heavily timbered. I constantly heard of 
great mineral wealth, but from my connection with the 
army had no personal experience in the mines. The road 
to the Rio Grande from Tucson is the finest natural road 
in the world.* 

I am, sir, very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

C. E. Bennett, Major 1st Cav. C. Y., U. S. A. 

Hon. Sylvester Mowry. 

* General P. St. George Cooke, U. S. A., said the same thing to me, 
in Washington, some years ago. — S. M. 



Correspondence. 199 

D'om Sam. F. Butterioorth^ Esq. 

New York City, May 25, 1864. 

Sir, — Since reading your work upon Arizona and So- 
uora, I have made an extended journey into those regions 
to examine certain mines, accompanied by three accom- 
plished metallurgists and mining engineers. I take great 
pleasure in saying that I find your work accurate and re- 
liable, and in reference to the mineral and agricultural re- 
sources of those portions of Arizona and Sonora visited 
by me, that your statements are confirmed not only by 
my own observations, but also by the written opinions 
of the eminent scientific gentlemen who accompanied me. 

I have the honor to be your friend and servant, 

Sam. F. Butterworth. 

Hon. Sylvester Mowry, of Arizona, etc., etc. 



200 Arizona and Sonora. 



CHAPTER XI. 

THE GOVERNMENT AND THE JUNES. 

The Mines of the West : shall the Government seize them ? — The 
Mining States : how shall they be Taxed ? 

The following letters, originally published in the New 
York World of April 25, and the Herald of May 4, 1864, 
were received with so much favor, that I gladly acceded 
to numerous requests to publish them in pamphlet form, 
and have reproduced them in this volume. My own ex- 
perience and kno'wledge of the subject convince me that 
they contain the essence and the truth, and are exhaust- 
ive of the subject; but I should be more than ungrateful 
if I failed to acknowledge the warm terms of commenda- 
tion which I have received from friends known, and oth- 
ers heretofore unknown, including many names distin- 
guished for sense, patriotism, ability, and high station. 

To have in the least degree made clear the rights of 
the miner and the duty of the legislator would be gratify- 
ing, and I am glad to know that these letters have done 
some good. Senator Conness, in a very able letter to the 
Secretary of the Treasury, has taken ground in favor of a 
tax at the mint, or public assay offices, on all bullion, ei- 
ther silver or gold, assayed, coupled wdth a law prohibit- 
ing the exportation of unstamped bullion. The objection 
made to this is, that it is a tax upon the gross proceeds 
of the mines. It is only just to Senator Conness to say 
that he made this suggestion, knowing that some tax 
would be laid by Congress, and he thinks this the least 
onerous. His views, that any taxation that discriminates 
against the miners is unjust, are fully in accord with my 
own. 



Tlie Government and the Mines. 201 

It is much to be regretted that senators and repre- 
sentatives refuse obstinately to understand this question. 
To those wlio persist in saying that these letters contain 
a threat of secession^ I can only repeat, it is no more a 
threat than it would be to say to a blind man on a pier, 
" If you walk twenty steps you will fall into the sea." 
Those who can not, or Avill not, distinguish between a 
threat and friendly advice, will get no sympathy when 
they come to grief. 

THE MINES OF THE WEST : SHALL THE GOVERNMENT 
SEIZE THEM? 

To the Editor of the World: 

A resolution has been introduced in the House of Rep- 
sentatives authorizing the President of the United States 
to take possession of the mines of Colorado and Arizona. 
Various other propositions have been made, all looking 
to the best mode of devising a revenue from the mineral 
lands for the support of the general government. It is 
deemed, in view of these facts, eminently proper to sub- 
mit to Congress and the country some facts and argu- 
ments upon these great questions, so important to the 
people of the frontier, so vital to the country, and so lam- 
entably misunderstood by the public men of the old 
states. 

Why does not the resolution include the State of Cali- 
fornia and the Territories of Nevada, Idaho, and New 
Mexico? In all these the precious metals are mined to a 
great extent on public lands. If the President is to take 
possession, in the name of the United States, of a mine in 
Arizona or Colorado, it follows by inevitable logic that 
he must do so throughout all the public lands. 

But what is a mine? It is not simply a portion of 
public lands where there is an outcrop of gold, or silver, 
or copper-bearing rock. A mine is a developed property, 

12 



202 Arizona and Sonora. 

where capital and labor have produced a certain result, 
and which only has value according to the amount of la- 
bor and capital employed in demonstrating its extent 
and capacity of j^roduction. This necessitates the erec- 
tion of extensive buildings, the purchase of costly machin- 
ery, sinking shafts, running tunnels and galleries, the ex- 
penditure of more or less money, often resulting in irre- 
trievable loss, sometimes in great gain. Is it proposed, 
in " taking j^ossession of the mines," to take possession 
also of the machinery, the houses, the mills, and the fur- 
naces erected by individuals or comj^anies at vast ex- 
pense ? 

For example, the Gould and Curry, Ophir, and Mexican 
mines in Nevada are undoubtedly on public lands. The 
proprietors of these mines have expended several millions 
of dollars in permanent improvements, in the shape of 
steam-engines, mills, furnaces, and roads. In opening 
and bringing to the surface their ores they have expend- 
ed nearly as much more. To-day they are deriving a 
large income from the mines, upon Avhich they pay the 
usual income tax. 

In Arizona, at the Mowry Silver Mines — individual 
property — more than $300,000 in gold has been expend- 
ed in improvements, $50,000 of which went to defend the 
i:>lace against Indians when the government withdrew 
wholly its protection from Arizona. At the Heintzelman 
Mine probably a similar sum has been expended. At the 
San Antonio Mine a large amount. On Colorado River, 
in Arizona, at the newly-discovered silver and copper 
mines, a very large sum. In the Territory of Colorado, 
where the exclusive interest is in mining, as in Nevada, 
and every branch of industry dependent on it, millions 
have been expended in like improvements. Is it pro- 
posed, in taking possession of the mines, to take posses- 
sion also of their improvements ? They are all that make 



The Government and the 3Iines. 203 

the mines valuable. Without them you can not get a 
dollar of the metals so indispensable to the country now. 
Does any sane man suppose it could be accomplished if 
attempted ; or, if successful, expect any other result than 
the total annihilation of the only hope of redemption for 
our redundant and increasing currency, viz., the produc- 
tion of the precious metals ? 

If the argument is good that the President, in the name 
of the United States, may take possession of the "mines" 
{i. e., the property of the miners — furnaces, mills, engines, 
and houses), why not take possession of all the farms oc- 
cupied by our frontier farmers on imsurveyed lands, who 
produce grain and beef for the miners' suj^ply, with the 
houses and grist-mills, and horses and cattle Vv^hich they 
feed on the public domain ? If the miners are trespass- 
ers, so are the farmers — more so, in fact, for the farmers 
only exist because the miners find the money to pay for 
their produce. 

The logical sequence of this is indisputable, and the 
passage 6f such a law as contemplated, if it could be en- 
forced, would at once jDut an end to our extending civili- 
zation ; and the great American desert, which has been 
made, in spite of governmental negligence and loorse^ to 
" blossom as the rose," would return to its pristine worth- 
lessness. 

Leaving out of the question the State of California, 
where the miners' code, established in each mining dis- 
trict, is most wisely adopted by the Legislature and the 
courts as a part of the public law, precisely as usage has 
established the lex mercatoria ; and where all the gold, 
and silver, and copper has been produced by individual 
enterprise or associated capital — look at Colorado and 
Nevada. Two great and growing states have grown up 
in a period wonderfully brief by the discovery and devel- 
opment of the mines. Hostile tribes have been subdued, 



204 Arizona and Sonora. 

cities built, civilization extended, the Pacific drawn to- 
ward the Atlantic in a friendly and eternal grasp, every 
branch of industry stimulated, an immense sum, in actual 
and ' transferable wealth added to the commerce of the 
world — how ? By the action of the government ? Stim- 
ulated by the government? Assisted by the govern- 
ment? JSFo ; in spite of the government — without help, 
without interference, except for the worse — by individ- 
ual enterprise, and the marvelous, indomitable energy of 
the people. Something by associated capital ; vastly more 
by the strong arms and never-failing hearts of the men of 
all parts of the world. 

Suppose these people had w^aited for the government 
to survey these lands, and point out and lease these mines, 
would Nevada or Colorado be known to-day ? And do 
sensible men propose noio to take the proceeds of all this 
labor and intelligence, and say to the miners, "You are 
tresspassers on the public domain ?" Does any sane man 
suppose there is power enough in this government, or 
any other under the sun, to do it ? 

The incidental revenue derived already by the country 
from the mines in operation is vastly more than could be 
obtained from any sale of the public mineral lands that 
could be devised, and the vast addition to the material 
wealth of the w^orld, and the exhibit of our material re- 
sources, every day increasing, show conclusively the wis- 
dom of non-interference with a policy so eminently bene- 
ficial. 

An inventor of some useful machine is invested by tlie 
government with an exclusive right to liis invention for 
fourteen years — often this time is extended. He is pro- 
tected by laws in his rights, and any one infringing upon 
them is punished. In what does the inventor difler from 
the miner? The miner goes into the desert or the wil- 
derness. At the risk of life and health, he discovers and 



The Government and the Mines. 205 

develops n, mine. He adds, as docs the inventor, to the 
material -wealth of tlic world ; or more often he dies 
alone, neglected, forgotten, his bones are gnawed by the 
wolves, his fate unknown to his nearest friends, and liis 
memory a blank. The inventor is rewarded and protect- 
ed, and his fame is at least dear to his kin. Is it pro- 
posed to take from the rarely successful miner the prop- 
erty he has created, brand him as a trespasser and a crim- 
inal, and, in the name of the government, which has nev- 
er helped him and his peculiar business, say to him," Your 
labor, your brains, your courage, your property, belongs 
to the United States ; go look for more, and then we will 
take that also ?" 

Tliere is a case pertinent and on hand of the power of 
the government to seize a mine. 

In July, 18Ga, the President of the United States di- 
rected the United States Marshal for the Northern Dis- 
trict of California to take possession of the New Almaden 
Quicksilver Mine. General Wright, commanding the De- 
partment of the Pacific, was ordered to furnish troops to 
enforce the seizure. The marshal and the troops pro- 
ceeded on their errand, and found the mine fortified 
against attack. Did tliey seize the mine? By no means. 
The excitement throughout the state was intense. The 
present governor, F. F. Low, leading bankers, merchants, 
and capitalists, telegraphed to Washington, " For God's 
sake, withdraw the order to seize the New Almaden, or 
there will be a revolution in the state." Did the min- 
ers telegraph to Washington ? No. They armed them- 
selves, and informed the superintendent of the Almaden 
mines by telegraph that they were coming to his assist- 
tance by hundreds and thousands, and the President of 
the United States, with a rare discretion, not only recall- 
ed the order, but disavowed it, or liis organ disavowed 
it for him, savincj it liad been obtained by fraud, and 



206 * Arizona and Sonora. 

and the possessors remained in quiet possession of their 
mine. 

Xo stronger case in support of my argument can be ad- 
duced. The New Ahnaden mines were jDOSsessed by for- 
eigners. They had often charged what the miners thought 
exorbitant prices for quicksilver. So far from there being 
any sympathy for them, there was rather an antipathy 
against them, and jet the state rallied as one man against 
their being forcibly dispossessed of their mining property 
by order of the President of the United States, in full 
■vieio of the fact that the Supreme Court had decided that 
they had no title. Can not Congress draw wisdom from 
this fact ? 

The United States once tried the plan of working mines, 
and all the world knows how it succeeded. Let the issue 
of the government scheme for working the Galena lead 
mines be a warning against another attempt. The dan- 
ger and loss then was small. To-day both would be fatal. 

How is the government to distinguish between mines 
on public lands and those upon the old French and Mex- 
ican grants ? No title is recognized in these old grants 
until it is affirmed by the United States, and a patent is- 
sued. Chief Justice Field, of the Supreme Court of Cali- 
fornia, in his decision of the Mariposa (Fremont) case, full 
of learning — and so sound in its law that it commands the 
assent of every good lawyer and the concurrence of all 
miners — declares that the minerals belong to the owner 
of the grant. If to-day the government seizes a mine 
upon lands Avhich prove a year hence to be upon a Mex- 
ican grant, reclamation will surely follow. The trespasser 
then becomes the government. Is it worth Avhile taking 
such a risk ? 

In 1859,. I asked the Hon. Jacob Thompson, then Sec- 
retary of the Interior, the question, "If a man locates one 
hundred and sixty acres of land, and finds a mine on it. 



The Government and the Mines. 207 

and works it successfully, and afterward Congress should 
pass a law segregating the mineral lands, can his quarter 
section be taken from him under such law, even if the 
land taken up was unsurveyed ?" Mr. Thompson replied, 
"Undoubtedly not. The taking away from the miner the 
land would be giving an ex post facto action of the law, 
and the government would have lost its right to reclaim 
by its own laches." The Hon. John Cochrane, then M. 
C, now Attorney General for the State of iSTew York, was 
present, and was aj^pealed to by the Secretary for his 
opinion. Mr. Cochrane said, " The Secretary's opinion 
was undoubtedly good law." I asked Mr. Thompson for 
his opinion as expressed in writing. He declined to give 
it on the ground of inexpediency, and because it was only 
a supposititious case. I presume Mr. Cochrane will I'c- 
member, if he tries, this conversation. 

A power like this proposed, if it could be made avail- 
able, would give to the President an amount of patronage 
fearful to contemplate. Every mine now in operation 
would be placed in the hands of some favorite or political 
aspirant. The proceeds of the mine would go into the 
capacious pockets of the innumerable tribe of leeches who 
daily deplete the public treasury, and the government 
would derive no revenue at all from its apparent proprie- 
torship. A case clearly in j^oint, Avhich I ask pardon for 
introducing, as it is my property of which I am about to 
speak. 

Nearly two years ago, the Mowry Silver Mines in Ari- 
zona were seized by a brigadier general, whose name shall 
not disgrace this letter, and a marshal of the United States, 
in the name of the United States. The mines were then 
producing about 8700 per day ; in a few weeks they would 
have been producing ^1500 per day, and by the close of 
the year 1861 double that sum. 

By a nice little arrangement between the brigadier ^q\\- 



208 Arizo7ia and Sonoi'a. 

eral and the marshal aforesaid, the mines were leased to 
a third party in the name of the government for $100 per 
month. Net result to the government: $100 per month, 
paid by the mine, and charged by the marshal for travel- 
ing expenses. Result to the brigadier general and mar- 
shal : several thousand dollars per month. The worst of 
the matter is to come. No improvements have been made 
at the mines to increase their product ; and instead of their 
producing, as they can and ought, $5000 per day, they 
produce no more than they did two years ago ; and this 
will always be the case if the government attempts to 
work the mines on its own account. 

Any such legislation as this proposed at once puts an 
^nd to " prospecting," and the farther development of the 
vast undiscovered mineral wealth of the country. Men 
are not going to work, to have the profits of their labor 
taken from them by hostile legislation. Does the govern- 
ment intend to "prospect" on its own account? Where 
is the authority to build mills and fujnaces, and houses to 
Avork the mines ? And if the authority is found, where 
is the government to get the money to do it ? 

The truth of the matter lies in a nutshell. No power 
on earth can enforce any legislation which proposes to 
take possession of the mines, and the sooner this is under- 
stood the better. The people of California, Colorado, Ne- 
A^ada, Idaho, and Arizona will rise en masse against it. 
Therefore, let Congress be warned in time. The hold of 
the Union on the Pacific empire is purely one of feeling 
and sentiment. Touch our mining tenure with a rough 
hand, and you turn the warmest feeling of the strongest 
Union man, the most earnest Democrat, and the most de- 
voted Republican, into hate and undying enmity. We 
have, through much suffering, out of your waste of worth- 
less public domain, made thriving commonwealths. Ev- 
ery part of the country is benefited by our labor, and, in 



The Government and the Mines. 209 

our own way, wc daily add to this store — more to the 
country than to ourselves. For our part, in Arizona, neg- 
lected and oppressed by the government for years, nine 
out of ten of us massacred by the Indians — what we have 
made our own, gained by passing through the "very 
shadow of death," is worth more than money can purchase. 
Now that our property is safe and productive, and of great 
value, we do not propose to surrender it, nor to be called 
trespassers, nor to have it taken from us by legislation, 
nor any thing but an overwhelming force. I believe I 
speak the sentiments of every man Avho owns or works a 
foot of mining ground any where in the limits of the Unit- 
ed States ; and upon this point I beg the doubting to con- 
verse with any miner they know. Let any public man 
question my distinguished friend, Mr. Justice Field, of the 
Supreme Court, as to his opinion of such legislation as is 
proposed upon the people of California. 

The only rational way to treat this subject is to devise 
an equitable mode of taxation, at the same time giving to 
actual possessors of mines on public lands undisputed ten- 
ure. The old Spanish mining ordinances — the collective 
wisdom of three centuries — gave to the mining interest 
every protection that could be devised ; free importation 
of machinery, quicksilver, all the aids to developing the 
mines, gave undisputed and rigidly protected tenure to 
the discoverer and purchaser of mines, enforced their la- 
borers, and demanded, in return for government aid, a 
fixed royalty, or tax, payable at the stamp (assay) offices 
in each district established for that purpose. 

In the infancy (magnificent thought it is) of our miner- 
al development no better precedent can be followed than 
the Avisdom of the Spanish law. Give the miners titles to 
their mines, and impose a fair tax. It will be paid readi- 
ly and honestly. If it is made onerous it will impede the 
opening of new mines, and thus " kill the goose with the 
golden Q^g.''"' 



210 Arizojia wid So7iora. 

While it is a great mistake to suj^pose all miners suc- 
cessful or all mines rich, it is an indubitable fact that min- 
ing is henceforth to be one of the great legitimate branch- 
es of industry in the country, inferior to none, constantly 
growing, and the only hope of salvation to the country 
from bankruptcy — the sole hope of paying even the inter- 
est on our public debt, as pledged, in gold. Let Congress 
touch this matter delicately. Any legislation which pro- 
poses to take away from actual bona fide possessors their 
mines can have but one of two results — a forcible stoppage 
of the production of the precious metals by a seizure of 
the mines by an army larger than that now in the field, 
or a rising of the people of the frontier that no army can 
put down. Is it wise to try the experiment ? 
Your obedient servant, 

Sylvester Movthy. 

New York, April 24th. 



THE MINING STATES : HOW SHALL THEY BE TAXED ? 

To the Editor of the New TorJc Herald: 
In your issue of Tuesday last, you say, " Mr. Sylvester 
Mo wry has published a long letter, stating that the min- 
ing states would rebel, secede, and smash and nullify ev- 
ery thing, if Congress attempted to take possession of 
what belongs to the government in those regions." 

The Herald has never treated any thing I have writ- 
ten in reference to Arizona or the Pacific slope unfairly, 
and I am sure it does not intend to misrepresent my let- 
ter to the World. But it appears to me quite clear that, 
in your remarks quoted above, you beg the question at 
issue : Do the mines that have been occupied and work- 
ed for years, without prohibition, and with the implied 
assent of the government, and upon which costly im- 



The Governmeoit and the Mines. 211 

jn'ovements have been made, belong to the government ? 
The question is not, Shall the government seize its own ? 
but. Shall it take the property of the miners ? 

There can be no doubt of the right and power of the 
government to segregate the unoccupied mineral lands, 
to appoint agents and scientific experts to examine and 
select them, and to fix a price per acre or per foot. It is 
purely a question of expediency ; it would be, beyond 
question, a most foolish thing to do. Any man of sense, 
■who examines the subject, can see this at a glance, if he 
looks at what has been done without government inter- 
ference by individual enterprise, and coimts up the vast 
addition to the productive power and wealth of the coun- 
try derived from the mines now in operation. It is 
equally clear that the government has neither the right 
nor the power to seize the mines now held and w^orked 
by actual possessors, and, I think, until some one shows 
the contrary, that my letter to the World shows this con- 
clusively. At least every man, whether practical miner 
or capitalist, who owns mining shares, agrees with me; 
and neither in numbers nor means are we to be despised, 
if it is to be made a question of force. 

When did the government ever get more than the 
price fixed by law for unsurveyed public lands, wdiich had 
been settled on, improved, and made Avortli thousands of 
dollars per acre, instead of the entering price $1 25, 
w^hen they were surveyed and sold ? 

The sales of Leavenw^orth City, and other valuable 
points in Kansas, are a good illustration. In the very 
teeth of a large force of the regular army, these lands 
were bid off by a combination of settlers at the govern- 
ment price, 8l 25 per acre. Any man wiio attempted to 
bid over this price was then and there killed. That was 
only " a tempest in a teapot ;" but it is worth Avhile re- 
membering. The House of Keprosentntives has done 



212 Arizona and Sooiora. 

wisely in laying on tlie table the very extraordinary 
proposition of one of its members, authorizing the Pres^ 
ident to take possession of the mines of Colorado and 
Arizona. I congratulate the Hon. Mr. Washburne upon 
his very sensible remarks, " that the President could only 
do it by use of military power, and that might produce 
civil war ;" and I am glad to find so eminent a Republic- 
an, and therefore government authority, so entirely in ac- 
cord with the views of the miners. 

There have been three propositions of decisive legisla- 
tion upon the subject of the mines introduced in Con- 
gress — two in the House, and one in the Senate. They 
can only be characterized in their order of introduction, 
bad, Avorse, worst. Neither of the distinguished sena- 
tors from California or Oregon, or the members of Con- 
gress from California or the mining territories, except 
the unfortunate member from Colorado, have attempted 
to touch this subject. Why? Because they knew its 
difticulties, and, knowing them, are content to "let well 
enough alone." It is a great pity that members or sena- 
tors from the old states should not imitate their wise ex- 
ample. The product of their brains, and their knowledge 
of the subject, thus far made public, afford a new reading 
of an old line, " Fools rush in where wise men fear to 
tread." 

The Herald^ in the editorial of Sunday, May 1st, ad- 
mits that mining is not always the successful business it 
is generally represented to be, and that its profits are not 
so great as generally imagined. Does it not follow from 
this admission that an onerous taxation would be not 
only unjust, but also unwise? 

There are numerous mines in operation to-day which 
produce large sums monthly, every dollar of which goes 
to the further development of the mines, to the purchase 
and erection of expensive machinery, and, in addition. 



The Government and the Mines. 213 

large assessments are called for from the stockholders. 
This is absolutely necessary for the success of the mines. 
Generally stockholders are poor, interest is fabulously 
high — from three to ten per cent, per month in mining- 
districts on mining stocks not paying dividends. If a 
tax is laid on the gross proceeds of the mines, is it not at 
once apparent that you impede, if not absolutely stoj), 
the further development of non-paying mines ? One of 
the most famous of the Nevada mines, the Mexican, ovs^n- 
ed in whole or in part by Duncan, Sherman & Co., had 
its net income stopped for months, in a single day, by a 
" slide." Had the owners been poor men, and the gross 
proceeds been onerously taxed, the mine would have 
st023ped .altogether, and so much have been taken from 
the actual wealth of the country. This illustration ap- 
plies with tenfold force to the mines owned and worked 
by poor men, struggling along, paying enormous interest 
— working like beavers, and living like beggars — on what, 
after all, may, and too often does, prove a delusive hope. 
It is proposed to tax such men and such property. It 
amounts simply to taxing a man for what he has not got ; 
and, worse than that, to put to death all " prospecting," 
and to stop at once every mine that did not yield an 
enormous profit. The argument that the products of the 
mines should pay an extra tax, because the mines are on 
public lands, applies with equal force to the grain, the 
beef, and every product of the settler on public lands. 
In fact, if it is right to discriminate, the discrimination 
should be against the farmer or the grazier, as his work 
is light, and his capital nothing compared with that of 
the miner, while his profits are more certain. Such a 
policy is certainly unjust. It is, beyond question, un- 
wise. 

Hardly was my letter to the World telegraphed to 
California, with the news that Congress proposed a tax 



214 Arizona and JSonora. 

of five per cent, on the gross yield of the mines, before 
the wires sent back a loud remonstrance from all parts 
of the state. The telegram to the Associated Press says, 

" Considerable excitement prevailed over the state in 
consequence of the proposition to tax mining produce 
five per cent. The policy is thought to be Avrong, and 
the tax excessive." 

A dispatch to Duncan, Sherman & Co., from their San 
Francisco correspondents (Alsop & Co.), which has been 
kindly placed at my disposal, says : 

"San Francisco, April 30, 1864. 
" Do all in your power to prevent the passage of the 
law taxing the gross proceeds of mines. It will be ruin- 
ous to California." 

Again, the general disjDatch of May 2d, says : 

"Best mining stocks have depreciated five per cent., 
owing to the proposition to tax mines. Great feehng is 
manifested on the subject. Nothing has been heard from 
the interior yet." 

Do you propose to fan this flame of discontent into 
a fire you can not quench ? Is it prudent or politic to 
interfere with a systeni which has worked so well for 
nearly half a generation ? Is the senator from Michigan 
wise enough to devise a scheme which will reduce to a 
system in Washington all the mining laws of all the min- 
ing districts in California and the mining territories? 
Does he, or any other public man, understand the subject 
so well that he can, at one stroke of his pen, " wipe out" 
a system which has worked so well, and which forms an 
integral part of the jurisprudence of California, Nevada, 
Colorado, and Oregon, and under which vested rights of 
years' standing have been established ? 

For many years the manufacturers of cotton goods and 



The Government and the Mmes. 215 

of iron were protected by a liigh tariff. To-day the cod 
fisheries are protected and rewarded with bounties. Is 
it now proposed, in the very death-agony of the repubUc, 
to strike a fatal blow, by unjust and suicidal taxation, at 
the very greatest hope of the country, viz., the protection 
of the precious metals ? 

The wisest thing that the present Congress can do — 
the only thing it can do of service to the government and 
justice to the miner — is to impose a fair tax on the net 
proceeds of the mines. A system of mining law§ can not 
be made in a day, if it is expected to be useful or to be 
enforced. The man who devises a code of mining laws 
which shall do equal justice to the rightful claims of the 
government and to the just claims of the miner — which 
provides a fair revenue and yet secures the title to the 
actual possessor of the mines, will approve himself a 
statesman indeed, and will deserve well of his country. 
His fame will rest upon a secure foundation, and " will 
endure, not for twenty, years but for twenty centuries." 

Nothing in my letter to the Worlds nor in this, can 
fairly be construed as a threat. It is no more a threat 
than it would be to say to a blind man on a pier, totally 
ignorant of his position, " If you walk twenty steps for- 
Avard you will fall into the sea." I have made a simj^le 
statement of facts, supported by Avhat we (the miners, 
not the speculators nor "bubble" blowers) conceive to 
be sound argument, founded on right, equity, and justice. 
If these facts can be denied, or these arguments contro- 
verted, let some one undertake it. The importance of 
the subject can hardly be overestimated. Mr. Caleb 
Gushing, in a letter addressed to me a short time since, 
says: 

" Porter, in his ' Progress of the Nation,' shows how 
the augmented demand for British coal and iron, by rea- 
son of the introduction of steam as a motive power, and 



216 Arizona and Sonora. 

that of railroads, saved Great Britain from bankruptcy 
during the generation next following the close of her pro- 
tracted struggle with Napoleon and France. I look to 
our mineral resources, not of iron and coal only, but of 
gold, silver, mercury, copper, lead, zinc, as the most prob- 
able means of our salvation in the years next after the 
conclusion of the present unhappy civil war." 

There can not be a thinking man in this country who 
does not believe that this opinion is sound. All that we 
(the miners) desire is, that common sense shall prevail, 
as much for the benefit of the government as for our own 
interests. Your obedient servant, 

Sylvester Mowey. 

New York, May 2, 1864. 



The Southern Railroad Route to the JPacific, 217 



CHAPTER XII. 

THE SOUTHERN RAILROAD ROUTE TO THE PACIFIC," 

Jefferson Davis on the Route of the 32d Parallel : All Routes present 
Obstacles; this the fewest. — Lieutenant Parke's Surveys. — Dis- 
tances. — The Office Examination. — The Jornado. — Water and 
Timber. — Distances and Elevations. — Mr. A. 11. Campbell's Report. 
— Temperature. — Opinions of Marcy and Emory. — Table of Com- 
parative Lengths and Costs. — General Considerations. — National 
Importance of a Pacific Railroad. 

I WILL now proceed to the consideration of the only 
remaining line, the route of the thirty-second parallel. I 
hope I am not expected to make it quite smooth, or 
find water at convenient distances, cultivable land, and 
timber continuously along the route. I know of no such 
route across our Territories. I wish I did. If there 
were a route where it was thus made easy to build a rail- 

* The following summary of the advantages of the Southern Route 
along the 32d parallel (which traverses Arizona) is from the conclu- 
sive speech of the Hon. Jefferson Davis in the Senate of the United 
States, delivered in January, 1859. This extract formed the appen- 
dix to the first edition of this work. It is reproduced here, as no later 
investigations invalidate the statements then made. The political 
events which have taken place since the delivery of this speech in no 
wise alter the physical facts here so clearly set forth. No one could 
deal more fully and intelligibly with the great subject of a railroad 
communication across the continent than has Mr. Davis ; and I have 
no comment to make upon his complete vindication of the Southern 
Route, except to say that the officers of the army who made these ex- 
plorations are men who understand their duty, and have no object to 
subserve except to gain an honorable reputation by the fidelity and 
thoroughness of their reports. I am able, from personal observation, 
to bear testimony to the signal ability with which tliese duties have 
been discharged. It is understood that Lieutenant J. C. Ives, Topo- 
graphical Engineer, who assisted Captain Whipple in his survey of 
the 35th parallel route, called the Albuquerque, and who has since 
been over both this and the 32d parallel, gives the most decided pref- 
erence to the Southern Route. — S. M. 

Iv 



218 Arizona and Bonora. 

road, we might feel a more happy security for the future. 
It would bring in its train not only the construction of 
such a work, but that continuous population which is 
needful to bind the two parts of the country together. 
Knowing no such line, I believe it is a Herculean task to 
construct the road, attempt it where you will. Go on 
what parallel of latitude you may, all you can do is to 
take the least of most serious obstacles. I reached the 
conclusion that the difficulties were least on the thirty- 
second parallel ; not that they were light. This conclu- 
sion was based upon the information possessed at that 
time. Subsequent explorations have materially improved 
the location upon the route, as I shall proceed to show, 
first describing the section from the Rio Grande to the 
Pimos villages. The office examination says : 

"After ascending from the bottom lands of the Rio Grande, in trav- 
ersing the region examined by Lieutenant Parke between these two 
rivers, from Dona Ana to the Pimos villages, one appears to be trav- 
eling on a great plain, interrupted irregularly and confusedly by bare, 
rugged, abrupt, isolated mountain masses, or short ranges, seemingly, 
though not in reality, without system. Winding around these isolated 
or lost mountains, or using a few passes through them, a railroad may 
be constructed with easy grades. Except through the mountain pass- 
es, the surface is so smooth as to require but little preparation to re- 
ceive the superstructure of a railroad ; and even in the two most diffi- 
cult of the passes (where, in one case, deep cutting or a tunnel at the 
summit, near the surface, in rock, with heavy side-cuttings and high 
embankments for short distances, and in the other a short cut of sixty 
feet — probably through rock — are proposed by Lieutenant Parke to 
attain grades of forty-six feet and ninety feet per mile, or less by in- 
creasing distance) the natural slope of the ground may be used for a 
railroad for temporary purposes, and until the road itself can reduce 
the cost of materials and supplies to the lowest rates." 

The re-survey by Lieutenant Parke shows that these 
two most difficult passes may be avoided. In i-elation to 
the supply of water upon this part of the route, the report 
of the secretary says : 



The Southern Uailroad Route to the Pacific, 219 

"The great difliculty experienced in crossing this district is in the 
long distances over which no water is found at certain seasons. The 
survey by Lieutenant Tarke was made during the dryest season of tlie 
year, and, irrespective of the springs found at intermediate points, the 
Avhole distance between the two rivers Rio Grande and Gila may be 
divided into five spaces, varying from eighty to fifty-three miles in 
length, at the termination of which large permanent supplies of water 
are found at the most unfavorable season of the year." 

These spaces and points are : 

From the Rio Grande to the Rio Mirabres 71 miles. 

From the Rio Mimbrcs to the stream of the Vallc del Saux...72 " 

From the Valle del Saux to the San Pedro 80 " 

From the San Pedro to Tucson 53 " 

From Tucson to the Gila 79 " 

Intermediate between these streams are permanent 
springs, and the new survey has improved the location 
in this respect. In his last report Lieutenant Parke 
states : 

''The supply of water upon the plateau is limited. Along and near 
the proposed line it is found at the following localities, and from these 
the working-parties can be supplied : at Neide's Spring, at the south- 
w^est corner of the basaltic hills, east of Cooke's Springs ; Rio Mim- 
bres ; Agua Fria ; Ojo de la Vaca ,• Ojo de Inez ; Valle del Saux ; in 
the Puerto del Dado ; Croton Springs ; at the Playa de los Pimos ; 
Castro Spring, near the railroad pass under Mount Graham ; Pheas- 
ant Creek ; Antelope and Dove Springs, at the base of the Calitro 
Mountains ; and at Bear Springs, at the head of the Aravaypa. The 
distance in direct lines from one of these localities to another are as 
follows : 

From the Rio Grande to Neide's Spring 40 miles. 

From Neide's Spring to Cooke's Spring 12 

From Cooke's Spring to the Rio Mimbres 21 

From Rio jNIimbres to Agua Fria 15 

From Agua Fria to Ojo de la Vaca G 

From Ojo de la Vaca to Ojo de Inez 12 

From Ojo de Inez to Valle del Saux 40 

From Valle del Saux to Puerto del Dado 23 

From Puerto del Dado to Castro Spring 30 

From Puerto del Dado to Croton Springs 30 



220 Arizona and jSonora. 

From Castro Spring to Croton Springs 18 miles. 

From Croton Springs to Pheasant Creek 12 " 

From Pheasant Creek to Antelope Spring 3 " 

From Antelope Spring to Dove Spring 2^ " 

From Dove Spring to Bear Spring 16 " 

"On the San Pedro route, water is abundant and convenient at 
Chameleon Spring and Prospect Creek, and in the entire valley of the 
Rio San Pedro. Besides these permanent supplies, water is found, 
after the rains, on the jilayas and in depressions in the drains." 

It has been argued, and I think successfully, that if the 
road were built, it might be worked from one supply of 
water to another ; but that has never satisfied my mind 
in relation to the difficulty which presents itself in build- 
ing the road. "Without tanks or wells, I do not see how 
the road is to be built, how working parties are to be 
sustained, with the distances which are found upon every 
route which has been surveyed. The facilities for mak- 
ing such artificial reservoirs upon this part of the 3 2d 
parallel route are thus favorably described by Lieutenant 
Parke : 

"For the working parties in the construction of the road, during 
the dry season, water can be obtained from the several above-mention- 
ed permanent sources of supply ; but this will involve, of necessity, 
much haulage, the maximum distance being twenty-three miles. But 
I am clearly of the opinion that water can be obtained at other points 
along and near the line of construction by sinking common wells. 
These playa formations are particularly favorable. Being basin- 
shaped, they receive and retain the drainage from the surrounding 
country, giving us natural reservoirs, * which require only to be tapped 
to give a constant and plentiful supply." 

I will now proceed to describe the section west of the 
Pimos villages. The office examination states : 

"We have now reached the Gila, seven miles above the Pimos vil- 
lages, the elevation above the sea being 1365 feet. From this point to 
its junction with the Colorado, the valley of the river is highly favora- 

* New discoveries of springs have been made since Parke's report, 
and will continue to be as the country is opened. — S. M. 



The Southern Railroad Route to the Pacific. 221 

blc to tho construction of a railroad. Tiiere -will be no necessity for 
embankments against freshets, but trifling occasional cutting and fill- 
ing; and, in those instances where the hills close in upon the river, 
there is ample space for the road without heavy cutting. The eleva- 
tion at the mouth of the river being 108 feet, and the distance between 
the two points 223 miles, ayc have a general slope of five and six tenths 
feet per mile, which, from the favorable character of the ground, may 
be assumed as the grade of the road. 

"Water and fuel for working ])arties are sufficient, though no grass. 
Logs may be driven down tlie Gila from the Moyogan Mountains at 
its source, from the Pinal Lleno, and down the San Francisco and Sa- 
linas Rivers, from the pine forests on the former, and the mountains at 
the source of the latter. 

" But it may be found more economical to receive all the supplies of 
lumber needed for the western portion of the road either from the San 
Bernardino Mountains and Pass, or from the harbor of San Pedro or 
Diego, or, should it be found desirable to establish one, from the depot 
near the mouth of the Gila.-' 

Senators will perceive that I am here explaining the 
basis on which I formed the opinion which governs my 
vote in this case. I have no controversy with any body. 
I do not expect to satisfy gentlemen that their routes are 
not as good as they wish them ; but I am dealing with 
the facts as they are contained in the reports, to justify 
me in the opinion which I have officially expressed, and 
on which I am now acting in my proposition to grant a 
given sum to make a railroad. I have not encountered 
all this labor in a mere spirit of controversy. 

"The most favorable point for crossing the Colorado is at the junc- 
tion of the Gila, where the river is narrowest, G50 feet wide, and has 
bluffs on both banks. • 

"The direction that the road should take across the desert interven- 
ing between it and the foot of the Coast Range depends, in part, upon 
the position of the pass by which it crosses this mountain chain. 
There are two passes known and explored : Warner's, the more south- 
erly of the two, will require five miles of excavation in granite and 
mica slate for the full width of the road, the grades varying from 130 
to 190 feet per mile. 

"The distances from the mouth of the Gila, over the desert, to the 



222 Arizona and Sonora. 

entrance of this pass, is eighty miles ; thence to San Diego is 150 miles. 
The San Gorgonio or San Bernardino Pass, on the contrary, is remark- 
ably favorable. It is an open valley, from two to five miles wide, the 
surface smooth and unbroken, aftbrding in its form and inclination ev- 
ery facility and no obstruction to the building of a railroad." 

This plain, eighty miles in width, has been treated as a 
desert Jor;iac7o, although there are springs and wells upon 
it; and the water of the Colorado, sometimes overflowing 
or rising in the middle of the plain, forms what is called 
iSTew River. The plain is certainly deficient in water ; but 
it is evidently a delta formation, and not a desert in the 
sense of being unproductive because of its constituent ele- 
ments. It is all of alluvial formation, clearly once belong- 
ing to the Colorado, and habitually overflowed by it ; but 
the deposit on the banks of the stream having enough 
moisture and tenacity to catch the sand driven upon it by 
prevailing winds, at last became a natural levee or barrier 
sufiicient to restrain the floods, and long drought render- 
ed the alluvial plain west of the river entirely sterile. 
Thus, I am informed, it is now along the Rio Grande. 
When the cultivation of a field is abandoned, left for but 
a few years without irrigation, sterility ensues ; but it can 
be restored to fertility by again supplying it with moisture. 

The supply of timber upon this whole route is deficient. 
The points where it may be obtained are thus stated in 
the office examination : 

"Let us assume the most unfavorable case for supplies of ties and 
lumber over that portion of the route between the eastern limit of the 
Llano Estacado and the summit of flie San Gorgonio Pass, 1052 miles 
— that is, that they must be brought from either end of the road, say 300 
miles from the eastern limit of the Llano Estacado, and from the port 
of San Pedro on the Pacific, 100 miles from the summit of the San 
Gorgonio Pass, making the points of supply 1400 miles apart: the 
greatest distance to which they must be transported from each end is, 
therefore, 700 miles by the road, the point of junction of supplies from 
the east and west being about 110 miles west of the Rio Grande. Lum- 
ber can undoubtedly be procured in the Red River district for $30 per 



ThQ Southern Railroad Route to the Pacific. 223 

1^00 feet. The .additional cost for transportation to the Llano, 300 
miles by the railroad, at three cents per ton per mile (double the usual 
cost on eastern railroads), is $13i, and its cost there $43|- per 1000 
feet; the cost per 1000 feet for 450 miles additional transportation is 
$20, and hence the cost per 1000 feet at this extreme point will be $G3i. 
The mean cost over these 400 or 450 miles from the eastern limit of the 
Llano Estacado will be $52i per 1000 feet. From Fulton to the Llano 
it is unnecessary to estimate its cost. 

'•Lumber may be delivered at San Pedro or San Diego from Oregon 
for i|30 per lOOO feet. ' Abundance of it can be got out from the San 
Bernardino and otlicr mountains near the line of the road at that cost, 
and it may be assumed, therefore, to be supplied at San Pedro or ISan 
Diego at that price, and at a mean cost over the road (the road sup- 
plying itself, as it must do, sections of 40 or 50 miles being built at a 
time) of $46 per 1000 feet. 

"The worst case having been discussed, it remains to be said that 
good ties and lumber can be obtained from the Guadalupe and Hueco 
Mountains, from the head waters of the Rio Mimbres, from the Pinal 
Lleno, Salinas River, and head waters of the San Francisco, and from 
the San Bernardino Mountains* of the Sierra Nevada or Coast Range, 
which sources of supply may be found to materially obviate the neces- 
sity of transporting lumber from the two ends of the road." 

Ill line, it may be said that the route of the 32d parallel 
from the Mississippi River to the Pacific Ocean is the 
shortest of those explored, its length being from 100 to 
400 miles less than the shortest of the other routes ; it is 
likewise the shortest route to San Francisco, being 100 
miles shorter than any other. The vast uncultivable belt 
through which all the routes must pass is crossed by the 
route of the 3 2d parallel where the width is least, its 
length through this region* being 200 miles shorter than 
any other line. The mountain region on this route has 
the least elevation, and the table-lands preponderate to a 
greater degree than on tlie other routes. 

It is the most economical route ; the estimated cost to 

* And from the Santa Cruz and Santa Rita Mountains in Arizona, 
near the line of the road, a section of Arizona never examined by Lieu- 
tenant Parke. — S. M. 



224 Arizo7ia and JSonora. 

the Pacific being from eighteen to twenty million dol- 
lars less than that of any other, and to San Francisco 
$10,000,000 less; the cheapness of the construction being 
due to the great extent of plains and table-lands, where 
the road-bed preparation required is slight. 

The mountain passes are open, and their natural slopes 
admit of temporary use without costly preparation. The 
winters are so mild that no difficulties, impediments, or 
dangers from snow and ice are to be apprehended, and 
this admits of the use of steep grades, and greatly facili- 
tates construction. 

On all the routes unusual means must be resorted to 
for supplies of water at the distances common on rail- 
roads. The intervals between'the large permanent sup- 
plies on the route of the 32d parallel are not too great for 
the working of a railroad, but additional supj)lies, at short- 
er distances, may be collected by tanks or wells. 

In the uncultivable belt that separates the Mississippi 
valley from the Pacific slope, occasional areas of arable 
soil are to be found. The route of the 32d parallel is 
neither less favorably situated in this respect, nor in min- 
eral wealth, than those in other latitudes, nor is the sup- 
ply of building materials and timber materially less on 
this route than on the others, excepting an interior por- 
tion of the route near the 49th parallel. 

In confirmation of the opinion expressed in the secre- 
tary's report upon the comparative advantages of the 35 th 
and 32d parallel routes, I wish to refer to the testimony 
of a civil engineer who has traveled over both, and looked 
at them with a view to the construction of a railroad — 
Mr. Albert H. Campbell. He was first connected with 
Captain Whipple's party for exploring the route near the 
35th parallel ; subsequently with that of Lieutenant Parke 
when re-examining the route near the 32d parallel. I in- 
tend to read from a letter which I find addressed by him 



The Southern Railroad Route to the Pacific. 225 

to the Hon. Guy M. Bryan, of Texas, in relation to the 
Pacific raih'oad, published in 1858. On the first pao-e he 
sets forth his total indiflcrence as to which of the two 
routes may be selected, and tlie absence of any pecuniary 
motive to influence him in one way or the other. He says : 

"I have no pecuniary or landed interest in the El Paso route, and 
consequently have no motive for my preference, except an honest con- 
viction, derived from personal observation, that it is emphatically the 
most practicable, cheapest, and shortest route between tlie Mississippi 
Eiver and the Pacific Ocean ; and the country through which it pass- 
es, as a whole, will compare favorably with any other route in agri- 
cultural and pastoral resources, and in mineral wealth, and that it is 
the only route that can be successfully worked during the entire year." 

"It is practicable to construct a railroad along the Albuquerque 
route, as reported by Captain Whipple ; but I maintain, and am will- 
ing to leave it to the decision of the ablest impartial railroad engineer 
in the country, that it can not be done without aii immense outlay of 
treasure in preparing a road-bed, and exceeding by at least twenty-five 
per cent, the cost of constructing a road of equal length over the 32d 
parallel." 

Of the climate he says : 

"In regard to the climate of winter on the Albuquerque route, I am 
satisfied that it will be found too cold to work a railroad successfully 
for at least three, if not four months of the year. The recorded expe- 
ri6»ce of six winters at Fort Defiance, only twenty miles in latitude 
north of Campbell's Pass, and about the same elevation — as I observed 
when I went to that post in November, 1853, through Campbell's Pass, 
though the Army Meteorological Register, page G41, put it down (or 
rather up) to ' 7200 (?) feet' above the level of the sea — must be taken 
as conclusive of the fact of its being at times extremely cold. 

"At Albuquerque, according to the meteorological report of the 
medical department of the United States Army, the maximum and 
minimum temperatures respectively were, for the winter months of 
1849 and 1850— in December, 53°, 5° ; January, 49°, 12° below zero ; 
February, 57°, 17°. For 1850 and 1851— in December, 52°, 5° below 
zero; January, 57°, 8° ; February, 59°, 7°. For 1852 and 1853— in 
December, 65°, 21°; January, G5°, 19°; February, G6°, 13°. For 
1853 and 1854— in December, GG°, 20° ; January, G3°, 5° ; February, 
C7°, 15° ; and in December, 1854, 58°, 19°. 

K2 



226 Ai'iz07ia and Sonora. 

" At Fort Defiance, about twenty miles north of Campbell's Pass in 
latitude, and from 300 to 500 feet higher, the maximum and minimum 
temperatures respectively were, for the month of December, 1851, G2°, 
4° ; 18 inches snow. For 1852 and 1853— in December, 50°, 2° ; 
January, 55°, 7° ; February, 5G°, 6°. For 1853 and 1854— in De- 
cember, 57°, G° ; January, 49°, 20° below zero ; February, 54°, 2°. 
For 1854 and 1855— December, 65°, 10° ; .January, 59°, 17° below 
zero; February, 61°, 13°. For 1855 and 1856— December, 56°, 25° 
below zero ; January, 54°, 8° below zero ; February, 51°, 3° below zero. 

A great error has been committed in sni^posing that 
because the 35th parallel route is in a southern latitude, 
it must be in a warm country. Temperature depends as 
much upon elevation as upon latitude; and fertility re- 
sults, not from the constituent elements of the soil alone, 
but from the meteorological conditions of the atmosphere 
also. Here is an elevation of VOOO feet above the sea, and 
a country of extreme aridity. The air from the ocean 
deposits the moisture it possessed in passing over the 
mountain ranges before it reaches this plain. Over it 
broods a forbidding sterility, and across it the winter 
winds sweep with a degree of cold scarcely less intense 
than that found in any portion of our coimtry. At the 
close of this table the writer says: 

"Tlie table above will give a fair idea of the climate of the country. 
The winter of 1855 and 1856 was more severe than any one known for 
many years. The wintry weather commenced on the 1st of November, 
1855, and has continued up to the present time (March 14, 1856). The 
Rio Grande, at Albuquerque, was frozen over, and with ice sufficiently 
strong to bear a horse and cai-reta. Those Indians who live habitually 
to the north of Fort Defiance were obliged to abandon that portion of 
the country and move south, with their flocks and herds, in quest of 
grazing, on account of the depth of snow, which, in the mountains, at 
whose base the fort is situated, was over two feet in depth in March, 
1856." — Correspondence of J. Leatherman, Assistant Surgeon United 
States Army ; Smithsonian Report, 1855, page 287. 

Speaking of the immense exposure encountered on this 
elevated plain in Avinter, Mr. Campbell says : 

" The imagination can readily picture the terrible calamity which 
would inevitably befall a train-load of passengers m rotite for the Pa- 



TliQ Southern Railroad Route to the Racijic. 227 

cific if an accident of a similar kind should stop thcii' progress midway 
upon one of those desolate artemisia districts between the Ojo dc Gallo 
and the Little Colorado, and between the valley of the Big Sandy Fork 
and the sink of the Mohave, where no human habitation can ever exist 
between the permanent water stations." 

lie treats of tlie supply of water in the same manner 
as the authors of the official reports. He notices the fact 
that Captain Marcy, having traveled over the 35th, and 
then over the 32d parallel route, testified in favor of the 
latter as an emigrant route. Citing the opinion of Major 
Emory as to the route on the 32d parallel, he says : 

"In an allusion to tlie subject of the railroad (on page 51, first vol- 
ume of jNIexican Boundary Reports), he [Major EaioryJ emjjhatically 
declares, of tlic advantages gained by the last, or Gadsden treaty, that 
it ' has secured what the surveys made under the orders of the War 
Department demonstrate to be the most feasible, if not the only prac- 
ticable route for a railway to the Pacific' " 

The comparison instituted in the office, when the field- 
work of the various explorations was reported, was to ful- 
fill the requirements of Congress, to find the most practi- 
cal and economical route for a railroad from the Missis- 
sippi River to the Pacific Ocean. I am not engaged now 
in the investigation of that exact question, the problem 
being merely that of crossing the Territories ; but as the 
practicability of effecting a connection between the Mis- 
sissippi and Pacific may control in any action of Con- 
gress, a table has been prepared which presents in a con- 
densed form the distances and the comparative cost of 
each route from the Mississipj^i Piver to the Pacific Ocean. 
Whether this estimated cost be too high or too low, it is 
not for that purpose iieedful to inquire. The object was 
to approach as nearly as possible to accuracy of compari- 
son, not to give an absolute statement of the cost. This 
is all that has ever been claimed for the office estimates of 
the cost ; and this is the reason why the estimates of chiefs 
of parties have been modified, so as to bring them to the 
snino coinparntivo scale. T submit the table to the Senate : 



228 



Arizona and JSonora. 



Table shoioing the Lengths^ comparative Costs, etc., of the 
several Routes explored for a Railroad from the Mis- 
sissippi to the Pacific. 



EOUTES. 


I2 
2 g 

S 


1 

i 

< 

m 


1 

3 


2 

ii 



d 


No. of Miles of Route through 
Land generally uncultivable, 
arable Soil being found in 
small Areas. 




CO.C 

2 a 
^ 

tt 
|£. 

II 

< 


Route near forty-seventh and 
forty-ninth parallels, from 
St. Paul to Seattle 

Route near forty-seventh and 
forty-ninth parallels, from 
St. Paul to Vancouver 

Route near forty-first and for- 
ty- second parallels, from 
Rock Island, via South Pass 
to Benicia ... 


Miles. 
1955 
1800' 

2299 

2325 

2535 
236G 

2000 

2174 
1748 
1633 


Feet 
18,054 
17,645 

29,120* 
49,9S5t 

5G,514t 

48,521t 

4S,8G2t 

3S,200§ 
.S0,181§ 
33,454§ 


? 

135,871,000 
125,781,000 

122,770,000 

Imp'cticable. 

Inip'cticable. 
113,009,000 
99,000,000 

94,000,000 
72,000,000 
72,000,000 


535 
374 

899 

805 

915 
910 
000 

984 
558 
524 


1490 
1490 

1400 

1460 

1020 
1450 
1400 

1190 
1190 
1159 


Feet 

0,044 

0,044 

8,3T3 

10,032 

10,032 
7,550 
7,550 

5,717 
5,717 
5,717 


Route near thirty-eighth and 
thirty -ninth parallels, from 
St. Louis, via Coo-chee-to- 
pa and Tah-ee-chay-pah 
Passes to San Francisco . . . 

Route near thirty-eighth and 
thirty-ninth parallels, from 
St. Louis, via Coo-chee-to- 
pa and Madeleine Passes to 


Route near thirty-fifth paral- 
lel, from Memphis to San 
Francisco 


Route near thirty-second par- 
allel, from Memphis to San 
Pedro 

Route near thirty-second par- 
allel, from Gaines's Land- 
ing to San Francisco by 
Coast route 


Route near thirty-second par- 
allel, from Gaines's Land- 
ing to San Pedro 

Route near thirty-second par- 
allel, from Gaines's Land- 





* The ascents and descents between Rock Island and Council Bluffs are not known, 
and therefore not included in this sum. 

t The ascents and descents between St. Louis and Westport are not known, and 
therefore not included in this sum, 

X The ascents and descents between Memphis and Fort Smith are not known, and 
therefore not included in this sum. 

§ The ascents and descents between Gaines's Landing and Fulton are not known, 
and therefore not included in tliis sura. 



The Southern Railroad Route to the Pacific. 229 

In volume seven of the Railroad Reports, a table will 
be found with Avhich this very generally corresponds, the 
difference being that some of the surveys having com- 
menced at anterior points — one, for instance, at Council 
Bluffs, and another at Fort Smith — the estimates of the 
reports are made from those points. Here they have 
been extended to the Mississippi River. The table in 
volume seven is also here modified by the supposition 
that the reported practicability of the Occur d'Alene Pass 
is correct, and thus the total sum estimated for the route 
near to the 49th parallel has been reduced. No additions 
have been made for those difficulties which, in addressing 
the Senate, I have stated had come to my knowledge 
since the preparation of my report, because information 
not derived from instrumental* survey is not accepted as 
the basis of estimate. 

I have only to add that, looking to the grant of land 
and of money with which Texas has endowed her railroad 
company, and to the interest which would be brought 
to bear for the extension of the Texas road to the Rio 
Grande by a company formed to build a road from the 
Rio Grande to the Colorado, I believe the sum of money 
and the grant of land contained in my substitute, although 
the smallest proposed by any one, will secure the con- 
struction of the road across that intermediate territory, 
will insure the extension of the road of Texas to the Rio 
Grande ; and that, having reached the Colorado, Califor- 
nia will charter a company to extend it to San Diego, to 
San Pedro, or to San Francisco. Most probably a com- 
pany, if incorporated to build a railroad from Fort Yuma 
to San Francisco, would first connect with the ocean at 
San Pedro, and thus command a more prompt return for 
their investment in the road than if they awaited its final 
completion to San Francisco. 

I have endeavored, during the progress of this debate, 



230 Arizona and Sonora. 

to ascertain how much of the land in the valley of the 
Santa Clara and the Salinas might inure to the benefit of 
a company undertaking to build a road. It is all known 
to be of the highest fertility, and blessed with a climate 
not inferior to any within the limits of the United States. 
If it is possible for the company to obtain near to that 
line even one half of the amount of land proposed.to be 
granted, I rely upon the accuracy of Lieutenant Parke's 
estimates to establish the fact that the road might be 
built there for the land grant alone. Whenever Califor- 
nia shall charter a company to build this road within her 
own limits, and that company shall ask Congress for a 
grant to construct it, I can not doubt that the interest of 
the United States will warrant Congress in making such 
a grant. Thus is reached the conclusion that the Texas 
road will be drawn on to make a junction with the road 
built in the Territory, and that the latter, when built to 
the Colorado, will certainly be extended to the Pacific. 
The eastern terminus of the Texas road will be available 
to all the roads which ramify throughout the United 
States, and be connected, in a very short time, with every 
important point from St. Paul to Galveston. 

If the facts which have been thus imperfectly grouped 
and presented to the Senate sustain the conclusion that 
this result is to be attained by so small a sum of money, 
it may reasonably be claimed that all who desire the con- 
struction of a road across the Territory, with complete 
connections throughout the states, are bound to sustain 
the proposition which I have submitted. 

My position is, that the completion of this great work 
is necessary to the due execution of the functions of the 
general government ; that it will not be achieved by pri- 
vate capital alone, therefore that we should strike ofiT ev- 
ery shackle which impedes its execution — should aban- 
don the right to collect duty on the iron employed; give 



The Southern Railroad Route to the Pacific. 231 

the whole limit of the United States from which to select 
a route ; extend every aid we can constitutionally afford, 
and to insure the construction of the road somewhere, be 
it where it may, so that it is on the soil of the United 
States. If, by haggling over petty sectional controver- 
sies — if, by sticking in the dark, and destroying the ener- 
gy of the Constitution, politicians shall defeat the efforts 
which have been made from session to session — shall 
prostrate the last hope for this road across the contincDt, 
and, thus unprepared, should we become involved in a 
war with the great maritime powers of Europe, they may, 
when it is too late to avert the disasters Avhich have been- 
so often foretold, have cause to j^ray for the mountains 
to fall upon and cover them from public indignation — to 
them may attach the blame, on us all may j^ress the 
shame and the sorrow of having lost to the country a 
territory worth innumerable treasure, of having forfeited 
that the value of which can not be measured by money — 
the prestige of stability, progress, and invincibility, and 
the right to inscribe on our national shield, Equal to 
THE Protection of a Continent-w^ide Republic. 



232 Arizona and JSonora. 



CHAPTER XIII. 

THE SILVER MINES OF ARIZONA.* 
The San Antonio Mine.— Aspect of the Region.— The Mowiy Mines. 
— Scene at the Hacienda. — ^Pay-day. — Labor and Laborers. — His- 
tory of the Mines. — Lieutenant Mowry. — Yield of the Mines. — 
Countiy and Climate. — Santa Rita Mines. — The Hacienda. — The 
Salero Mines. — The Ores. — Grazing. — The Sopori Ranch. — The 
Country and the Mines. — Prospects.— The Heintzelman Mine. — 
The Country. — Past and Present of the Mines. — The Ores. — Mex- 
ican Thieves. — The Arivaca Mines. — The Country. — Arizona 
Mining Company. — Surrounding Mining Region. — The Cahuabia 
District. — The Mines. — The Bahia Mines.— General Conclusion. 

The San Antonio Mine. — A pleasant drive of two 
hours through the beautiful valley of the Santa Cruz 
brought us to the hacienda of the San Antonio Mining 
Company, now under the charge of Mr. Yerbes, an intel- 
ligent American, who received us with great kindness 
and hospitality. The buildings of the hacienda do not 
admit of very sumptuous accommodation, but here, at 
least, we found, for the first time since leaving Tucson, a 
living nucleus of American civihzation : houses with fire- 
places, and fires in them ; rude attempts at beds and ta- 

* Mr. J. Ross Browne, the famous traveler, has just returned from 
an extended trip in Arizona, of which he is to furnish an account 
through the pages of Harper's Magazine. Learning that he was to 
give an account of the silver mining region, I requested the publish- 
ers to insert such portions of this as bore directly upon this topic, as a 
supplementary chapter of my work. They kindly consented to do 
this, in advance of its appearance in the Magazine. I may add that 
I have not seen the account of Mr. Browne, and have no means of 
knowing how far his views coincide with my own. But it can not 
fail to be of interest to the readers of my work to compare with my 
own the views and impressions of a man who looks at the country 
from a stand-point so wholly different. — S. M., San Francisco^ August, 
18G4. 



J. jRoss Broione on AHzona Mines. 233 

bles ; and a people who furnished us with wood free of 
charge, and ofiered us from their scanty stores of pro- 
visions whatever we needed. A mill, with smelting fur- 
naces and a small engine, had just been erected for re- 
ducing the ores, and would be put in operation as soon 
as the necessary facilities for working the mine could be 
obtained. 

The San Antonio Mine is situated about six miles 
from the reduction works, in a spur of the Santa Cruz 
Mountains. The ore is rich in argentiferous galena and 
lead, easily managed, and will doubtless yield profitable 
results. It is questionable if the silver lodes in this vi- 
cinity will produce so large a proportion of rich ores to 
the ton as those of the Santa Rita and Cerro Colorado 
Mountains ; but it has been well demonstrated that they 
are deep, boldly defined, and reliable, and wdll, if proper- 
ly worked, amply recompense the labor and capital in- 
vested in them. The magnificent grazing lands of the 
valleys into which the spurs of the mountains run ; the 
abundant supply of fine oak timber on the foot-hills ; the 
facilities for procuring provisions from Sonora, and easy 
access, by good roads, to the ports of the Gulf, aflford 
them peculiar advantages, which would be greatly en- 
hanced if we possessed the small strip of territory ex- 
tending as far south as Libertad. ISTo traveler passing 
through this region can fail to be struck with the sagac- 
ity of the Mexican commissioners in running the boimd- 
ary-line. 

The Mow^ey Silver Mines. — Approaching these 
mines we found indications of life and industry. Cords 
of wood lay piled up on the wayside ; the sound of the 
axe reverberated from hill to hill ; the smoke of many 
charcoal pits filled the air ; and teamsters, with heavily- 
loaded wagons, were working their way over the rugged 
trails and by-paths. Gradually the road became better 



234 Arizona and Sonora. 

defined, and the clearings more extensive, till we came 
to the brow of a hill overlooking the hacienda. 

A more picturesque or cheering view I had rarely seen. 
Down in the valley of several hundred acres, almost 
embosomed in trees, stand the reduction works, store- 
houses, and peon quarters. Smoke rose in curling clouds 
from the main chimney, which stands like an obelisk in 
the centre of the mill, and sulphurous vapors whirled up 
from the long row of smelting furnaces in the rear. The 
busy hum of the steam-engine and fly-wheels fell with a 
lively efiect on the ear ; the broad, smooth plaza in front 
of the works was dotted with wagon's and teams dis- 
charging their freight of wood and ore ; and under the 
shade of the surrounding trees, amid the picturesque lit- 
tle huts of the peons, groups of women and children, 
clothed in the loose variegated costume of the country, 
gave a pleasing domestic interest to the scene. It was 
the last of the month, and consequently pay-day — a very 
w^elcome and important day all over the world, but es- 
pecially in this isolated region, where pay-days are scarce. 
Such an event within fifteen miles of Santa Cruz rises to 
the dignity of a grand public institution. The citizens 
of Santa Cruz, who are not proverbial for energy, seem 
to be inspired with new life on occasions of this kind, 
and never fail to visit the mines in large numbers for the 
purpose of participating in the general rejoicing. For 
two or three days the whole hacienda presents a lively 
and characteristic scene. Work is out of the question, 
so far as the j^eons are concerned. Under the shade of 
every tree sits a group of thriftless vagabonds, conspicu- 
ous for their dirty skins and many-colored serapas, shuf- 
fling the inevitable i^ack of cards or casting their fortune 
of greasy "hobes" upon the capricious hazards of monte. 
The earnings of the month are soon disposed of. The 
women and children are left dependent upon new ad- 



J. R088 Brovmc on Arizona Mines. 235 

vanccs from the store-houses ; the workmen are stupefied 
Avitli mescal and many nights of debauch; and when all 
is over, the fixudango at an end, and the monte tables 
packed uj), every miner bankrupt, and no more goods or 
money to be had, tlie posse of sharpers from the border 
lines of Sonora take their leave. 

Under the existing system of labor in Southern Arizo- 
na, the silver mines can never be developed to their full 
capacity, or profitably worked. The Santa Kita, Cerro 
Colorado, and Cahuabia Mines have been tried in this 
way, and the result has been invariably unfortunate. 
Many valuable lives have been sacriliced, and vast 
amounts of property lost by the treachery, dishonesty, 
and incapacity of this class of workmen. It may be just- 
ly contended that this is the cheapest, and, in fact, the 
only labor hitherto to be obtained. Indeed, $15 a month, 
payable mostly in goods at high prices, can not be con- 
sidered an extravagant rate of wages for men who have 
had more or less experience in the working of mines. 
But that must be determined by the result. There will 
be no difficulty in procuring reliable white labor as soon 
as there is any security for life and property. The cli- 
mate of Arizona is far more genial than that of Nevada, 
where white labor is abundant. Men can be found to 
work wherever they receive an adequate compensation 
for their services. I do not believe it would be practi- 
cable wholly or at once to dispense with Mexican labor. 
It can always, to some extent, be made available for the 
lower grades of mining operations. Under the prepon- 
derance of a higher and more intelligent class of labor, it 
may become both convenient and profitable. 

The Mowry Mine (formerly known as the Patagonia 
Mine) was probably known to the ^Mexicans, and worked 
by them many years ago. The Americans first discov- 
ered it in 1858. In ISGO it became the property of Syl- 



236 Arizona mid Sonora. 

vester Mowiy, Esq. It is situated within ten miles of 
the boundary-line between Sonora and Arizona, is 6160 
feet above the level of the sea, and is distant 280 miles 
from Guyamas, on the Gulf of California. 

It is not my purpose, in these casual sketches, to write 
a report on the condition and prospects of each silver 
or gold mine in the Territory of Arizona, even if I pos- 
sessed the requisite knowledge of mining operations. I 
can only say, therefore, in reference to the Mowry Mine, 
that the lode appears to be large, bold, and well defined, 
and the ore of fair average richness. It is composed of 
argentiferous galena, impregnated with arsenic, and is 
easily reduced by smelting. Three distinct veins are 
perceptible, which cross each other in the principal lode. 
The ore which was in process of reduction at the time 
of my visit yielded, as I was informed, about $40 to the 
ton. It was not the richest, nor could it be considered 
a fair average. Mr. Kiistel, the distinguished metallur- 
gist, author of the " Processes of Silver and Gold Extrac- 
tion," etc., visited the mine about a month prior to my 
arrival, and made a thorough examination of its ores and 
resources. From a report* made by him, it would ap- 
pear that some of the ores average |350 to the ton. If 
the mines were properly worked, he estimates that a gen- 
eral average of |50 to $70 to the ton might be obtained, 
and he mentions among the advantages in fluxing the 
presence of iron ore, manganese, and lime. The result 
of one day's working he found to be as follows : Prod- 
uce of twenty tons in silver, $1200 ; in lead, $480 ; total, 
$1680 : expenses of reduction, mining, etc., $400 ; profit, 
$1280. This result is highly encouraging ; but the prob- 
ability is, a more perfect and extensive system of opera- 
tions would greatly enhance the nett proceeds of the 
mine. 

* See ante, p. 69. 



J. Ross Broicne on Arizona Mines. 237 

At the time of our visit this property was in the liands 
of the deputy marshal of New Mexico, Avho held it on 
behalf of the United States. Mr. Mowry, it appears, had 
been arrested and imprisoned by order of General J. II. 
Carleton, and the mine seized under the Confiscation Act. 
Of the merits of the difficulty I have no knowledge. It 
appears, however, that Mr. Mowry was discharged by the 
court which tried his case. His property, I believe, has 
since been restored to him by order of the government. 

This gentleman's career in Arizona has been singular- 
ly adventurous and varied. In 1855 he Avas an officer of 
the Federal army at Fort Yuma. An expedition Avhich 
he made into the wilds of Arizona inspired him with a 
high opinion of its great mineral resources and a most 
enthusiastic estimate of its future destiny. He resigned 
his position in the army, and sj^ent several years in ex- 
ploring the country, and attempting to procure a recog- 
nition of its claims by government. At one period he 
was elected a delegate to Congress, and visited Wash- 
ington for the purpose of procuring a territorial organ- 
ization, but his object was defeated by sectional dissen- 
sions in that body. Mr. Mowry is well known through- 
out the United States. His name is inseparably connect- 
ed with that of Arizona. It is a part of himself. He 
once declared, in a moment of passion, when his term of 
residence was questioned, that " he was horn there !" 
Certainly no man has done more for the new territory 
than he, and no man loves it better. The climate of the 
Patagonia is unsurpassed — I might almost say unequaled. 
How such a paradise ever came to be christened after 
the chilly, fog-smitten land where "giants grow and 
storms do blow," I am unable to conjecture. No won- 
der Mr. Mowry prefers his own name, which, if not so 
euphonious, is at least less suggestive of howling winds 
and fishy natives. 



238 Arizona and Sonora. 

After passing through the canon of the San Lazaro, 
we entered a valley which opens out into a magnificent 
grazing range, extending nearly twenty miles to the foot- 
hills of the Pinitos Mountains. Groves of cotton wood 
of gigantic size fringe the stream at intervals of every 
few miles. The grass is wonderfully luxuriant, covering 
the valley and hill-sides, as far as the eye can reach, with 
a rich gold-colored carpeting. The slopes of the hills 
and mountains are beautifully adorned with groves of 
oak, ash, hackberry, and various kinds of shrubbery, 
through the foliage of which the bright yellow grass glis- 
tens like a patch-work of gold ; and far in the distance 
this glowing continuation of colors is outlined by the 
purple peaks of innumerable sierras, shivered by some 
tremendous convulsion of the earth into the wildest and 
most fantastic forms. Such sunrises and sunsets — such 
marvelous richness of coloring — such magic lights and 
shades I have never seen equaled in Europe — not even in 
Italy or the islands of the Grecian Archipelago. 

Santa Rita Mixes. — A small party of us resolved to 
visit the mines of the Santa Rita District. For this ex- 
pedition we provided ourselves with a pack-mule for our 
provisions, and carried our own blankets on horseback. 
Crossing the Santa Cruz at the foot of the milpas, oppo- 
site the town of Tubac, we followed an arroyo for about 
four miles, when we ascended the right bank and enter- 
ed a dry, elevated plain, called in this country a mesa, or 
table, stretching almost as far as we could see north and 
south, and bounded on the east by the mountains of San- 
ta Rita, and on the west by the Santa Cruz valley and 
the mountains of Atacosa. It was a matter of surprise 
to most of us how luxuriant the grass was on this mesa, 
and what an inexhaustible support it affords for innu- 
merable herds of cattle. No water, however, is to be 
found nearer than the Santa Cruz River and the canons 
of the Santa Rita Mountains. 



J. Ross Browne on Arizona Mines. 239 

We found the beautiful liacienda of the Santa Rita 
Comjjany now soUtary and desolate. The houses have 
gone to ruui, and only a few adobe walls, furnaces, and 
the frame-work of the mill remain to mark the spot for- 
merly so full of life and enterprise. It was sad to stand 
among these ruins and think how hard a fate had been 
the reward of nearly all the enterprising men who had 
built up this little community. A few years ago these 
houses, now empty and crumbling down in dusty frag- 
ments, were replete with busy life ; the reduction works 
were in full blast, and every heart thrilled with the 
brightest anticipations of the future. 

Mr. Poston, who had done more, perhaps, than any 
other man to develoj) the resources of this vast mineral 
region, had some depressing reflections as he gazed upon 
this scene of ruin."^' He had suffered too much, however, 
in Arizona, and seen too many reverses of fortune to 
waste much time in retrospection. The future was still 
bright and promising. It would not be long before 
these tenements would be again inhabited, and the 
sounds of life and industry again enliven the place. 
With the necessary ^^rotection now promised, the com- 
pany is prepared to re-establish the works. An experi- 
enced manager, Mr. Wrightman, who has had long expe- 
rience in this region, is now on the way out, and proba- 
bly not more than a few months will elapse before the 
mines and hacienda will be occupied by a large working 
force. 

At the distance of a few hundred yards from the ha- 
cienda is a silver lead, situated strangely enough in the 
valley, close by the bed of the creek, upon which some 
explorations have been made. An assay of the ore, 
made in 1861, yielded $400 to the ton. Water i# fur- 

* I am glad to learn that my friend Poston has recently been elect- 
ed delegate to Congress from Arizona. — J. R. B. 



240 Arizona and JSonora. 

Dished by the mme itself, which is not considered a dis- 
advantage in this country, where that element is the 
great desideratum. 

The Saleeo Mine. — A mile beyond we reached the 
foot of the Salero Mountain, near which, in a pleasant 
little valley, stand the ruins of the peon houses, once oc- 
cupied by the operators on the Salero Mine. The sur- 
rounding hills are clothed with a rich growth of grass, 
and there is an abundance of oak timber scattered over 
these hills and the adjacent mountains to supply the req- 
uisite fuel for the reduction works for many years. Wa- 
ter is found in an adjacent canon a few hundred yards 
from the quarters, but not in sufficient quantities for 
stock. There would be no difficulty, however, in in- 
creasing the quantity by digging. 

The Salero, which is the principal mine in this region, 
is situated in the side of a conical mountain of the same 
name, rising immediately from this little valley, and pre- 
senting some very striking mineral phenomena. The 
shaft is seen about a third of the way up its face, and is 
approached by a wagon-road, which cuts and leaves ex- 
posed a number of veins running into the mountain in 
nearly the same direction, and all bearing more or less 
indications of silver. 

During the afternoon and on the following day we vis- 
ited at least fifteen or twenty distinct mines, all partial- 
ly opened and well tested, forming what might be termed 
a perfect network of silver - bearing ledges. Among 
these were the Salero, Bustillo, Crystal, Encarnaciou, 
Cazador, and Fuller, each one of which has yielded, un- 
der a very imperfect system of working, at the rate of 
from four to fourteen hundred dollars to the ton. This, 
of coui'se, was from selected ores. The average would 
probably not fall short of two hundred dollars, though 
sufficient work has not yet been done upon which to 



J. Ross Browne on Arizona Mines. 241 

base a reliable calculation. The assays and experiments 
of such men as Kilstcl, Pompelly, Booth, Garnctt, Main- 
zer, Blake, Dr. Jackson, of Boston, and others, demon- 
strate, at least, that there is a great abundance of rich 
ores in the Santa Rita District. 

As a grazing country for cattle and sheep, the valleys 
and foot-hills of the Santa Rita can not be surpassed. 
Grass of every variety known in Arizona covers the 
ground all the year, and there is practically no winter 
for live-stock. The climate is so mild, even in the 
months of January and February, that it is a positive 
luxury to sleep in the open air. Wood can be obtained 
in limited quantities in the neighborhood ; and when that 
is exhausted, the valley of the Santa Cruz, only twelve 
miles distant, furnishes an inexhaustible supply. The 
mines abound in ores easy of reduction by smelting, and 
they are so situated that access to all of them by good 
roads can be had at a small expense. The transit to 
Tucson and Guaymas is over the best natural roads in 
the world, but will require military protection for some 
time to come. 

The Sopoei Ranch, although at present uninhabited, 
possesses advantages as a mining and grazing region 
which have long since given it a reputation in Sonora. 
Embracing over twenty square leagues of mountain and 
valley, it comprises within its boundaries some of the 
best silver and copper leads and cattle - ranges in the 
country. During the greater part of the year it is well 
watered ; but there are times when water is scarce, ex- 
cept in the vicinity of the head-quarters, where the sup- 
ply is never-failing. By means of acequias, a considera- 
ble extent of bottom-land, of a very productive quality, 
has already been cultivated. The usual cereal crops 
thrive well here, and esculents arc especially fine. "Wood 
of many valuable varieties, such as oak, ash, walnut, cot- 

L 



242 Arizona and Sonora. 

tonwood, willow, and mesquit, grows in the ravines and 
along the margin of the creek. Lying twelve miles south 
of Tubac, bordering on the mission lands of San Xavier 
del Bac to the north, and distant but forty-five miles 
from Tucson, on the highway to the Cerro Colorado, 
Arivaca, and Sonora, it possesses great advantages of 
location, and a climate unrivaled for its salubrity. 

I spent the afternoon rambling over the hills, making 
sketches of the scenery, which, at this season of the year, 
is Italian in its atmospheric coloring. Indeed, that land 
which possesses the " fatal gift of beauty" is fairly out- 
rivaled by the Sopori. 

The principal mine, which I also visited, is about two 
miles from the head-quarters. As yet the lode has been 
but little explored. A shaft has been sunk, from which 
some very rich ore has been taken, portions of it in small 
particles of pure silver. 

I do not believe, however, from my own casual obser- 
vation, that the mother vein has yet been struck. The 
average of ores taken out, and upon which experiments 
have been made, demonstrates a yield of $150 to the ton, 
and this by the rudest process of smelting. Selected 
specimens have yielded $700 to the ton. Still, the vein 
does not appear to me sufficiently defined at the point 
now reached to warrant the belief that large results can 
be Expected without farther exploration. Mr. Bartlett, 
I believe, has taken a^ great interest in the development 
of this region, and has organized a company at Provi- 
dence, Rhode Island, for the working of the mines on an 
extensive scale. 

The whole country bears strong indications of rich 
mineral deposits. The Mexicans, for many, years past, 
have worked some gold placers in the ravines of the 
neighboring mountains ; and we saw the remains of aras- 
tras where they had formerly ground and smelted silver 



J. Ross Broicne on Arizona Mi7ies. 243 

ores. All this district of country needs development. 
With capital, energy, and patience, it nuist eventually be- 
come one of the most valuable mining districts in the 
Territory. 

The IIeixtzelman Mine. — An early start enabled us 
to reach, by noon, the Ileintzelman Mine, or, as it is more 
commonly called, the " Cerro Colorado." This celebra- 
ted mine belongs to a company of ISTew York capitalists, 
known as the "Arizona Mining Company." The dis- 
tance by the road from Tubac is as follows : To Revan- 
ton, 8 miles; Sopori, 5 ; Cerro Colorado, 11 : total, 24 
miles. A much shorter road could be made across the • 
foot-hills of the Atacosa range of mountains, but the w'ork 
would be attended by considerable expense. From So- 
pori, the road now used is the public highway to Altar, 
Saric, and other points in Sonora, and will probably form 
a branch of the prpjected route to Port Libertad, on the 
Gulf of California. It runs through a broad open valley, 
abounding in groves of walnut, oak, ash, and mesquit, 
fringing the bed of a creek which is usually dry at this 
season. Numerous arroyas, extending down from the 
gulches of the neighboring mountains, in which the sands 
are drifted by the floods of former years, show that the 
country is not always so destitute of water as it is at 
present. The valley extends nearly all the way up from 
the Sopori to the foot-hills of the Cerro Colorado. It is 
covered with a luxuriant growth of grass, and is one of 
the finest grazing regions for cattle and sheep I have 
seen in the Territory. Sufficient water for stock can be 
had any ^vhere along the bed of the creek by digging a 
few feet. On the north side there is a rise of several 
huncTrbd feet to the level of a mesa, which extends as far 
as the eye can reach toward San Xavier del Bac. . This 
plateau is dry and rocky, but produces fine gramma grass, 
and furnishes an inexhaustible range for sheep. To the 



244 Arizona and Soiiora. 

southward lie the roUiDg hills that join the Atacosa 
Mountains. These are also covered with grass, and dot- 
ted with palo-verde, mesquit, and cactus. Deer is abun- 
dant in this region, having been but little disturbed dur- 
ing the past few years. We killed two as we traveled 
along the road, and saw many more. Wild turkeys, rab- 
bits, quails, and other game also abound in great num- 
bers, so that we had no difficulty in keeping the camp 
well supplied. 

I w^as surprised, on our arrival at the mine, to see 
the amount of work which had been done at this place. 
The head-quarters lie on a rise of ground about a mile 
distant from the foot of the Cerro Colorado, and present, 
at the first view, the appearance of a Mexican village 
built around the nucleus of a fort. 

Scarcely three years ago the hacienda of the Cerro 
Colorado presented probably the most striking scene of 
life and energy in the territory. About a hundred and 
twenty peons w^ere in the employ of the company ; the 
works were in active operation ; vast piles of ore were 
cast up daily from the bowels of the earth ; wagons were 
receiving and discharging freights ; the puff and whistle 
of the steam-engine resounded over the hills ; herds of 
cattle, horses, mules, and other stock ranged over the 
valleys. At the time of our visit it w^as silent and deso- 
late — a picture of utter abandonment. The adobe houses 
were fast falling into ruin ; the engines were no longer 
at work ; the rich piles of ore lying in front of the shafts 
had been sacked and robbed by marauding Mexicans ; 
nothing was to be seen but wreck and ruin, and the few 
solitary graves on a neighboring hill, which tell the story 
of violence and sacrifice by w^hich the pathway to civil- 
ization has been marked in Arizona. 

We took up our quarters within the walled fortifica- 
tions which mark the entrance to the mine. The works 



J. Ross Browne on Arizona Mines. 245 

arc Avell protected by a tower in one corner of the 
square, commanding the plaza and various buildings and 
store-houses, as also the shafts of the mine, which open 
along the lodge for a distance of several hundred yards. 
We found the steam-engine still standing within the in- 
closure, but rusty and partially imbedded in the ground, 
liemains of arastras and " whins," with various massive 
beams scattered about, showed to some extent the large 
amount of labor expended upon these works. 

The entrance to the mine is close by the tower. The 
shaft has been sunk to a depth of a hundred and forty 
feet, and has been for some time partially filled with wa- 
ter. Poston and myself descended by the ladders as far 
as we could. About sixty feet of w^ater stopped ns from 
going any farther. I was surprised at the completeness 
and durability of the work — the more so, knowing with 
what difficulty every part of it had been accomplished. 

Of the quality of the ores in this mine I am not pre- 
pared to express any opinion of my own. The best 
practical evidence I saw of their value was that the 
Mexicans had been plundering the different shafts which 
w^ere accessible just prior to our arrival; and, judging 
from their rude system of reduction, I scarcely think 
they would waste time in stealing ore of little value and 
transporting it across the border line through an Apache 
country. It is well known that the town of Saric, in 
Sonora, has been built upon the proceeds of ore stolen 
from the Heintzelman Mine. I saw scattered about the 
premises piles of ore which had just been broken up, 
ready for packing away ; and the fresh tracks of mule- 
trains and wagon-wheels, on the well-beaten road to Sa- 
ric, showed how profitable this sort of enterprise must 
be to the Sonoranians. 

The Arivaca Mines. — Seven miles from the Cerro 
Colorado we reached the Arivaca ranch, long celebrated 



246 Arizona and Sonora. 

for its rich mines and fine pastures. This ranch, called 
by the Mexicans La Arihac, comprises within its bounda- 
ries 17,000 acres of agricultural land, 25 silver mines, for- 
merly worked by the Mexicans, and numerous gold, cop- 
per, and lead mines, as yet undeveloped. It contains a 
large amount of rich meadow-land, bordering on a nevcr- 
failiug stream ; is well wooded with oak, w^alnut, ash, Cot- 
tonwood, and mesquit, and is capable of sustaining a pop- 
ulation of five or six thousand souls. The range for cat- 
tle and sheep is almost without limit, extending over a 
belt of grazing country as far south as the Arizuma 
Mountains, w^est to the great peak of the Baboquivori, 
and north and east into the heart of the neighboring 
mountains. This goes far beyond the boundaries of the 
ranch ; but in Arizona, as in California, the possession of 
water is tantamount to the possession of the whole sur- 
rounding country. The title is held by the Arizona 
Mining Company, and is derived from Thomas and Igna- 
cio Ortez, who perfected it as early as 1802. It was sur- 
veyed by Lieutenant A. B. Gray, of the Boundary Com- 
mission, in 1859. Up to the abandonment of the Terri- 
tory in 1861, it was in a progressive state of improve- 
ment under the auspices of the company's agent. The 
reduction works of the Heintzelman Mine w^ere situated 
on this ranch for the convenience of Avood, water, and 
pasturage, and were projected on a costly and extensive 
scale. Little now remains of them save the ruins of the 
mill and furnaces, the adobe store-houses and oflaces, and 
a dilapidated corral. 

We camped in the old mill, and spent a couple of days 
very pleasantly in visiting the mines and exploring the 
gulches of the neighboring mountains. Game was abun- 
dant. Some of our escort who were good shots brought 
in several fat deer, and we lived in sumptuous style dur- 
ing our stay. 



J. Hoss Broi'me on Arizona Mines, 247 

A couple of miles below the liead-quiirters is situated 
another mining establishment belonging to the same 
company, and designed for the use of certain mines in 
the same vicinity, one of which we visited, and found to 
present very favorable indications of lead and silver ore. 
Several buildings, in a fair state of preservation, com- 
prise what is left of the hacienda ; also a double corral 
for liorses and cattle. 

The Cahuabia District. — Crossing the desert of the 
Papagoria, we made an exploration of the Cahuabia Dis- 
trict. The principal mines in this district are owned by 
the Cahuabia Mining Company. From the Report of 
Mr. Mainzer, a very able practical engineer, it would ap- 
pear that the silver lodes are among the richest in Ari- 
zona; but I can readily believe this to be the case from 
my own observation. I have seen nothing in Washoe 
or elsewhere that presents more favorable indications. 
Mr. Jaeger, our Fort Yuma friend "Don Diego," of 
whose history I gave a brief sketch in my first paper, 
owns the " Pecacho," a very rich lead, upon Avhich con- 
siderable work has been done. A few Mexicans were 
engaged in getting out the ores at the time of our ar- 
rival. This mine was leased to a Mexican during the 
past two years, who, by the rudest system of working, 
managed to get about forty thousand dollars out of it, 
over and above expenses. 

We visited the Bahia, a silver lode of extraordinary 
richness belonging to the Cahuabia Mining Company. 
From some Mexicans who were helping themselves to 
the ore, we learned that it yielded an average of 8300 to 
$350 to the ton, and occasionally they struck it in nearly 
a pure state. There are also very fine copper mines in 
the vicinity. Mr. Hill d'Amit, who was a member of 
our party on the trip to Sonora, is largely interested in 
one of these, and considers it one of the best copper leads 



248 Arizona and jSoiiora. 

in the country — quite equal to the celebrated Maricopa 
lead on the Gila. Difficulty of transportation is the 
great drawback to copper mining in this part of Arizo- 
na. I am satisfied, from my own observation, and from 
the concurrent testimony of others, that the Cahuabia is 
a mineral region of more than ordinary richness. It 
abounds in almost all the precious metals, but is as yet 
scarcely known beyond Tucson. No finer field for ex- 
ploration and enterprise exists south of the Gila. 

My impressions of Arizona may be summed up in a 
few words. I believe it to be a territory w^onderfully 
rich in minerals, but subject to greater drawbacks than 
any other of our territorial possessions. It will be many 
years before its mineral resources can be fairly devel- 
oped. Emigration must be encouraged by increased mil- 
itary protection ; capital must be expended without the 
hope of immediate and extraordinary returns ; civil law 
must be established on a firm basis, and facilities of 
communication be fostered by legislation of Congress. 



Ward Oil the Silver Mines of Northern Mexico. 249 



POSTSCRIPT.* 

WARD ON TUE SILVER MINES OF NORTHERN MEXICO. 

Projects for Mining. — The Mines of Arizpe. — Richness of Ores. — 
The Balls of Silver. — Old Spanish Decree. — Cfiaderos de Plata. — 
Speculations and Prospects. 

Some Americans have endeavored to establish a com- 
pany for Batopilas, but have not, I believe, as yet suc- 
ceeded in raising a sufficient capital. A Mexican com- 
pany for working some of the mines of Sonora was like- 
wise proposed in the capital very lately, but failed, I be- 
lieve, in consequence of a want of confidence in the- per- 
sons who wished to promote its formation. 

A similar enterprise will shortly be attempted in En- 
gland by an English gentleman (Colonel Bourne) who 
has been long a resident in Mexico, in conjunction with 
Mr. Escalante, the representative of the State of Sonora 
in the Senate. They have taken up contracts for the 
mines of Arizpe (about 36° north latitude), in a situation 
possessing great local advantages — a fertile country, the 
vicinity of two large rivers, and a communication by wa- 
ter with the Pacific. The mines themselves were for- 
merly celebrated for their riches, and the capital re- 
quired to bring them again into activity is very small. 

The specimens which I have seen of the ores extract- 
ed from them almost induce one to adopt the theory 
that the proportion of silver contained in the ores in- 

* While on my way from San Francisco to visit my mines in Ari- 
zona, my attention was drawn to the following passages in "Ward's 
Mexico,'' published some years ago, which throw some light upon the 
early history of mining in Sonora and Arizona. — S. M., Guaymas, 
Mexico, August 7, 18G4. 



250 Arizo7ia cmd Sonora. 

creases as yoii advance toward the north — a theory very 
generally believed at present in Mexico, and certainly 
confirmed by the superiority of the northern ores to 
those of the richest districts in the south. The idea 
probably originated in the discovery of the famous bolas 
de plata (balls of silver) of Arizona, in the beginning 
of the last century, which was, and probably still is, be- 
lieved in Europe to be one of those fables with which 
mining countries always abound. 

But the attention of the jDresent government of Mexi- 
co having been drawn to the subject, a search was made 
in the vice-regal archives, by order of the President, for 
the correspondence w^hich was known to have taken 
place respecting it in the year 1736. 

This correspondence I have seen ; and I have in my 
possession a certified copy of a decree of Philip the 
Fifth, dated Aranjuez, May 28th, 1741, the object of 
which was to terminate a prosecution instituted by the 
royal fiscal against the discoverers of Arizona for hav- 
ing defrauded the treasury of the duties payable upon 
the masses of pure silver found there. 

The decree states the weight of the balls, sheets, and 
other pieces of silver discovered (^o/as,^:>^<:mc/i«s, y otras 
2nezas de2)lcitd) to have amounted to 165 arrobas, 8 lbs. 
— in all, 4033 lbs. ; and mentions particularly one mass of 
pure silver weighing 108 arrobas (2700 lbs.), and anoth- 
er of eleven arrobas, upon which duties had been ac- 
tually paid by a Don Domingo Asmendi, and which, as 
a great natural curiosity (como cosa especial), the king- 
states ought to have been sent to Madrid. 

The decree ends by declaring the District of Arizona 
to be royal property, as a " criade7'0 de plaUC (a place 
where, by some natural process, silver was created) — an 
idea to which the flexibility of the metal, when first ex- 
tracted, seemed, in those times, to give some color of 



Ward on the Silver Mines of Northern Mexico. 251 

probability — and by directing it to bo worked upon the 
royal account. This put a stop to the enterprises of in- 
dividuals ; the district was deserted ; an attempt to j<end 
a colony there failed ; and, in a few years, the very name 
of Arizona was forgotten. 

I am far from supposing that the whole of the facts 
recorded in this decree can be taken as correct, although 
the authenticity of the decree is unquestionable. But 
what one can not adopt without confirmation ought not 
to be rejected without inquiry ; and I see enough, at 
least, in these records of Arizona to warrant the suppo- 
sition (confirmed as it is by the facts and appearances 
mentioned in the preceding pages) that the hitherto un- 
explored regions in the north of Mexico contain min- 
eral treasures which, as discoveries proceed, are likely to 
make the future produce of the country infinitely exceed 
the amount that has been hithertj? drawm from the com- 
paratively poorer districts of the south. 

In how far these discoveries must be influenced by the 
progress of population, and in what degree the discover- 
ies themselves may be expected to influence that prog- 
ress, remains as a subject of inquiry for the fourth and 
last section of this book, in w^hich I shall endeavor to 
point out the connection between the mines and the ag- 
riculture and commerce of Mexico, as the best mode of 
illustrating the efiect likely to be produced by their pros- 
perity upon a country the general interests of which they 
so eflectually promote. — Vol. i., pages 458-461. 



THE E.^D. 



n '"m 



L 



